Withering Love
by Halloween265
Summary: He left her in her greatest time of need. She's back, but not the same person she was. Adrian continues to fight for her affection despite who she is now. Dimitri continues to feel guilty but will he try to get her back? Rated T. AdrianxRosexDimitri
1. Don't Leave Me

**Note:** Okay so I thought 'the heck with it!' so i just decided to post it. I also decided that i am going to put this T not M. don't ask i just have my reasons. So this one will be short. The rest will probably be long and all that cheese. Anyway, i hope to enjoy this. I'll try to keep up with this and my other two stories. One's almost finished but i might make a sequel but it depends. Like i said. Enjoy.

Sadly, I don't own Vampire Academy D:

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"_Help me…" I groaned in pain. I looked to the side of me to see that my abdomen is bleeding and my hips are broken. I need to make it to the ward now. _

_But what I didn't know is that I'm already dying…_

"_Dimitri, help me please." I say as I reach my hand out towards him. _

_He stares at me. His face shows guilt and pain but his mask is put up before I read any more emotions. _

_They're both traitors. There they are, looking down at me as if I'm a homeless person. She starts to leave and looks back, hoping that he will follow. _

_Why won't he help me? I'm sure he knew that last night was no big deal. _

"_Come on…" she pleads. I look at him. I know that look. He's debating whether or not to leave with her or leave with me. _

_Or maybe…they don't want my blood on their hands. That's it! _

"_Roza…" he says, his voice cracking. _

"_Come on! They're coming!" She starts to panic. _

"_Don't leave me…" I gasp out. _

_He shoots me a look of pure guilt and hurt. He starts to walk away…_

_Why? Why is he leaving me? I lay on the floor, my hand is reached out, and I am helpless as I watch him run with her. _

_I look down and stare at the floor. Soon the pain becomes unbearable. _

"_You…you traitor! I trusted you! Don't leave me!" I cry out. My hips are throbbing in pain and I can feel my heartbeat slow down. _

_Suddenly, I'm hit with all of our moments. Good and bad. _

"_You left me," I say as I take my last breath…_

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I wake up. Sweat is pouring down my forehead as if I had just gone for a swim. My blankets are kicked off the bed, sprawled out on the floor.

It was just a dream.

I wake up the next morning ready to practice with Dimitri. Ever since the nightmare I didn't get much sleep. Hopefully Dimitri can help me get rid of these thoughts.

But why do I have a feeling like it's actually going to happen? The pain, heartbreak, and even when I took my last breath; it felt so real.

I shake my head trying to get rid of the dream. _It's just a dream…it's just a dream…_

As I near the gym I feel so scared. Why am I acting like this? Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

I open the gym doors to see a furious Tasha and a grief stricken Dimitri. Uh-oh.

"Is it because of _her?_" She spat the last word, pointing at me.

Dimitri looked at me and shook his head, "No." Ouch that hurt. Seriously, it did.

"Calm down Tasha," I tried to reassure her. Even though I don't like her, I still have to treat her with respect.

"Don't you calm down Tasha me!" she shouted at me.

The next thing I new; she grabbed me by my shoulders and threw me across the room. Damn, I didn't know she had strength. I hit the wall really hard, hard enough that I swore my hips just went out of place. I see black blurs for a moment and I see Tasha standing over me. I can try to fight her.

Dimitri is running towards us, desperate to get Tasha to stop. He grabs her by the arm but she sees his stake and grabs it and pushes him away. She turns to me and lifts me up by my arms. The pain in my hips is excruciating. I try to stand on my legs but my hips won't let me.

Taking this opportunity, I punch Tasha the moment I see her. She yelps out in pain and stumbles back. I take a step but I almost fall and I turn to the wall for support. Big mistake. I feel something stab me right in the abdomen. I look down and see the tip of the stake pointing out.

I scream in pain and fall to the floor. Then it all hits me.

_I-It couldn't be!_ Shock overwhelms me. With a great deal of strength and adrenaline, I lift myself on my elbow.

Déjà-vu.

I can't breath right. I look up to see the faces of Tasha and Dimitri.

"Help me…" I groaned in pain. I need to make it to the ward now.

But what I didn't know is that I'm already dying…

"Dimitri, help me please." I say as I reach my hand out towards him.

He stares at me. His face shows guilt and pain but his mask is put up before I read any more emotions.

They're both traitors. There they are, looking down at me as if I'm a homeless person. She starts to leave and looks back, hoping that he will follow.

Why won't he help me?

"Come on…" she pleads. I look at him. I know that look. He's debating whether or not to leave with her or leave with me.

Or maybe…they don't want my blood on their hands. That's it! He didn't do anything to stop Tasha! Only to pull her away and that was all he did! He just stood there! Why?

"Roza…" he says, his voice cracking.

"Come on! They're coming!" She starts to panic.

"Don't leave me…" I gasp out.

He shoots me a look of pure guilt and hurt. He starts to walk away…

Why? Why is he leaving me? I lay on the floor, my hand is reached out, and I am helpless as I watch him run with her.

I look down and stare at the floor. Soon the pain becomes unbearable. My breathing becomes ragged and short.

"You…you traitor! I trusted you! Don't leave me!" I cry out. My hips are throbbing in pain and I can feel my heartbeat slow down.

Suddenly, I'm hit with all of our moments. Good and bad. Our first meeting, our first fight, practice session, conversation, our first kiss…

At first I saw a dream. A dream I thought I could have with him. Now all I see is a shattered future.

My time is coming up, I can feel it.

Then the bad times comes…

Arguing, him pushing me away constantly, him telling me he doesn't love me anymore, him as a strigoi, and now this…

I feel a sharp pain in my heart. Why did this have to happen today? Why now? I had my life ahead of me! Living as a guardian beside Lissa and Dimitri.

I bring my hand back in and rest it against my chest.

"Dimitri…" I say as I close my eyes and take my last breath.

"Rose!" was the last thing I heard.

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Read and Review. Not my best work, but had to give it a try. It's so wierd writing in first person and sort of...easier. Tell me watchu guys think! I'm out!

-halloween265


	2. Forever In Guilt

**Note:** Wow i already have so many story alerts and favorites. aw dang! oh snap! haha. This is sort of a chapter thing. I meant to make it longer but it doesn't matter.

You know the drill...:D

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(Dimitri's pov)

No words could describe the emotion I felt that day. Pain, regret, guilt, sorrow, sadness…it could go on forever and mix into one.

I try my hardest not to think about that day anymore.

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_That day was dark, gloomy, raining…_

_Nobody was happy. Not even Stan. Same with Kirova._

_I watched from the back of the memorial, alone with the other guardians. Lissa sat in the front row staring at the body of Rose in the casket. _

_They were both lifeless. Lissa's eyes were red and puffy from crying so hard. She was void of any emotion even with Christian there by her side. He, too, was sad._

_But Roza's…she looked peaceful laying there. Her eyes forever closed, her heart still as a stone, and skin as cold as winter snow. Even in her peaceful state, I could tell that it held a hint of a pained expression. _

"_We are here today to remember a student…" Kirova started. _

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No. I won't think about it anymore. As much as it pains me so, I can't.

It's been two years since that ungrateful day. I have been alone ever since. Lissa and Adrian still talk to me. It's obvious that they don't know what happened. And I don't plan on telling them. If I do, then who knows what will happen to me. But then again, why should I care? I deserve everything that comes to me.

They say that your biggest mistakes can change your life. But mine only worsened. I never talked to anyone. I completely isolated myself from the rest of the school.

Lissa has healed a lot better. Rose was a sister to her. I guess I have to thank Christian for that.

I had spent the past two years moping around and it's time I move on. But I can't.

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"Dimitri…Dimitri!" Lissa repeated.

I looked up from the newspaper. I had gotten too distracted.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Lissa sighed at then looked at me, "I said, what are you planning on doing next week?"

"I honestly don't know. I don't plan much stuff out." I replied, looking down.

"Well I was planning on going back to the academy for a while. You know, for a short visit. Like stay there for a week."

Is she kidding me? Now that she's in college, I was hoping never to go back to that god forsaken place.

"I think that's a great idea," Christian said as he pecked Lissa on the lips.

"I…uh…actually something just popped up in my head," I said, trying to get out of it. But I knew that Lissa wouldn't buy my pathetic excuse.

"Dimitri, you don't have anything planned out. I can see right through you," she teased.

She thinks I don't want to go back there because it was where Rose had died. But in truth, I was part of her death. Even though I didn't kill her, I didn't do anything about it.

We were eating breakfast in the cafeteria until we heard a crash coming from the courtyard.

Eddie and I immediately stood in a fighting stance.

I walked to the noise, "Eddie, stay with Lissa." He nodded.

I went outside to check how everything was going. But I turned around to see that Lissa had gone pale suddenly.

She screamed and fell to her knees, grabbing her head in pain.

"Lissa, what is it?" I said as I took her face in my hands. Her eyes were shut tight and she shook her head.

"Lissa, tell me. What happened?" I asked in a low voice.

"The bond…" she whispered, looking down at the ground.

"What about it?" Eddie questioned from behind.

"She's back…" was all she said before fainting.

I held Lissa in my arms. What did she mean by that? Rose is dead. She can't be back. Maybe she hasn't gotten a good sleep yet.

I looked around and saw that we had attracted a crowd. I slowly picked Lissa up.

"Don't worry. Just stress," I explained. Everyone nodded or shrugged it off and went back to what they were doing.

Eddie and I walked back to the rooms in silence.

"Do you really believe she's back?" Eddie asked all of a sudden.

"No. It's not possible. She's dead." I say with sadness in my voice.

"I just hope that whoever did that to her serves a lifetime in hell. And when I find out that he's still alive, oh man, I will beat him into the next life." He threatened.

_If only you knew, Eddie._

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(Nobody's pov)

She felt trapped. The first thing she realized is that she couldn't move or see anything let alone breathe. She tried to move her arm and she realized that she needed to get out of wherever she was quickly. If she stayed where she was she would surely die.

She felt cold as death and looked down at her body. She still looked the same, but with no clothes. Luckily her hair and covered up some spots. She realized that it grew some.

_What the hell?_

"Ah I see my child, you have awakened," a familiar voice said from behind.

She didn't say anything though. It felt like she couldn't talk or think straight. Something was missing.

"Now that I have resurrected you in a new body, you shall do whatever I say. You shall call me 'Master' and that's all." He commanded.

She still didn't say anything. It was silent for a few minutes and he had lost his patience. He walked up to her, grabbed her arm and lifted her up to teach her a lesson.

"Now you listen to me-," he was cut off when he saw the look in her eyes. They were lifeless.

"Great, I have resurrected a worthless person who is missing a chunk of her soul!" he shouted.

"No matter, I shall find this missing piece of the puzzle." He looked at her. "But first things first, get some clothes on. We are leaving."

Something flashed in her eyes and he back away in fear.

"No," was all she said before reaching towards him, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him into the wall.

He looked at her before passing out.

(Rose pov)

Damn old guy. How dare he try to take advantage of me? My memories are slowly returning to me as I stand in the dark room but they stop before I can find out what happened to me. Last thing I remembered was being brought back to the academy.

I need to find clothes quick before someone walks in.

I look to where I was earlier and saw a pile of folded clothes. Must be for me.

After I get changed I look in my reflection, I seriously need to cut my hair. It's like all the way down to my knees! What the hell?

As I get changed I see a different sight in front of me. I'm not in my own body. What's happening?

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Dun dun dun! haha i really have to say that this chapter was short but Rose's back! well not really...update tomorrow so keep in check. i hope to get better at this first person thing. i'm soooo not used to it.

-halloween265


	3. You Again

**Note:** Sorry for the delay i had too much work. When i saved the chapter, i realized that i rushed into the story a bit too fast and so i decided to take it slower. My other story just needs two more chapters and then it's done. So then it'll just be this and my other one. I made this long just so you guys know. I can't believe that this story already has so much favs and story alerts. thank you guys.

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RPOV

I start to shiver. I look up to see that I'm standing in the winter snow. The jacket I'm wearing is pink with fur on the ends. It's too cold.

"Princess Dragomir, the plane is ready to board." A guy said from beside me. I know him but why don't I remember his name?

"Thank you Eddie," I say. Wait. This isn't me though. This is Lissa. Where is she going?

"You ready?" Another guy asks from behind. She turns around to look at him. Oh my god, he's so cute!

All of a sudden I'm back in my own head and I feel a sharp pain in my chest. I fall to my knees and begin to gasp for air. Why is this happening? I don't remember getting hurt. I struggle to get back on my knees but it only made the pain worse.

Then a memory suddenly came to me.

_Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path. We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was him, the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, and as tall as I'd figured, probably six-six or six-seven. Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail. Dark brown eyes. A long brown coat-a duster, I thought it was called. _

"_Leave her alone," I growled, "Don't touch her." _

"_I'm not going to-," _

_I attacked. _

That was the guy! He was the one I saw while in Lissa's head! Before I can fully concentrate on how I knew him, another memory hit me.

_When the group seemed ready to disperse, I started to get out of the car. Dimitri stopped me. _

"_No, Roza. You stay here."_

"_The hell with that. I have to go help her." _

_He cupped my chin with his hands, fixing me with his eyes. "You have helped her. Your job is done. You did it well. But this isn't any place for you. She and I both need you to stay safe."_

By now my breathing has become ragged and short. Dimitri? Was that his name? Then why does my chest hurt when I think of him?

I spent at least ten minutes trying to remember but I gave up eventually. So I ignored it and walked to the entrance of the…what is this place anyways? Walls, pictures, no windows. Strange. For a few minutes I look for the entrance and I finally find it. I open the door to see snow covering the ground.

It's beautiful. But then I realize I don't have shoes. I walk back inside and take off the old mans shoes. Perfect fit. So I head outside.

It's sunny outside and the light reflects off the snow, making it bright. Every step I make I feel like I'm walking on a mattress. No clouds are in the air. It's cold but not to where I can see my breath literally. Small and large icicles hang down from every branch on the tree.

As much as I would enjoy being in the snow, I don't know where I am. I look up at the sun and see the mountains up ahead. When there are mountains so close to each other, that's where the school is.

This is going to be a while…

I walk straight to the mountains and notice that it is already sunset. I need to hurry. I look to my left only to see dark purplish clouds head my way. Great, a blizzard will be coming. And I don't have much time to get to the school.

I pick up the pace almost to where I'm traveling at a jogging speed.

In about another hour I am so close to the school. And the clouds are dangerously hovering above me now.

I find a road and decide to walk along it. I am lucky there are lights along it or I never would've followed the road correctly.

As I walk I hear a car coming close to where I am. Before anyone in the car even sees me, I quickly hide in the bushes. I take a quick glance at the car and feel a force pull me to it. But at the same time the pain comes back only for a moment before diminishing. After it passes I know I have to follow it.

It might've felt like forever before I finally reached the gates and I realize that they might not let me in. How in the world am I going to do this?

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LPOV

I can feel her. She's close. But where?

"We're here, Princess." Dimitri says to me. I nod and exit the car. The school still looks the same. Nothing has changed.

"Let's get you inside," Eddie said, gesturing me to the entrance but I shake my head.

"No, I want to look around for a few minutes, to see if anything has changed." I say to him. Eddie and Dimitri look at each other for a moment before looking back at me and agreeing.

I smile and walk towards a trail that led to the back.

RPOV

There she is. Lissa. At this rate my heart is overflowing at the joy of seeing her again. It felt like I had spent an eternity away from her and now I won't be leaving her side again. I begin to walk to her when I see two men following not far behind her. Both men are very tall and very good looking.

I ignore them and decide to head on over to Lissa. I'm halfway there when I realize that one of the men is the one I recognize. The pain returns this time, but isn't very bad so I continue my way to Lissa. By now I'm almost there and I guess the guards sensed me because they are now in front of her in a fighting stance.

I stop and decide to stay silent. If I don't move then neither will they. It stays like this for an agonizing five minutes and I grow tired.

"Liss?" I ask in a concerned tone.

"Rose?" Lissa gasped. She put a hand on Eddie's shoulders and moved in front of him. Dimitri looked at her in shock before looking at me the same way.

"Stay behind me," he growled, not taking his eyes off me.

"Liss," I say again, "Where have you been?"

She stares at me for a while, looking me up and down. I know what she's thinking. She's wondering if it's really me standing here.

"If you leave we will spare your life," Dimitri, I think that's his name, says.

"Oh and do I really expect you to keep your promise?" I retort.

He looks at me and says, "I have always kept my promise,"

I scoff, "I bet."

"Rose? Is it really you?" Lissa said.

"Yeah it's really me. And why didn't you tell me that you left?" I ask impatiently.

"You don't remember, do you?" she said.

I am totally caught off guard for a moment, "What are you talking about?"

"Rose," She put a hand on my shoulder and I flinch. So does she.

"Rose, you're so cold!" she gasped, "Here, take my sweater!"

I put my hand out to stop her, "No, you'll get sick if you take it off."

She hesitates and reluctantly put it back on.

"Do you remember anything Rose?" she asked me seriously.

I was about ready to answer when I see that she took a few steps back.

"Liss don't go," I beg, reaching my hand out. I freeze.

_I lay on the floor, my hand is reached out, and I am helpless as I watch him run with her. _

_I look down and stare at the floor. Soon the pain becomes unbearable. My breathing becomes ragged and short._

"Don't you dare take a step closer!" Dimitri yells. This time I get a good look at him and then everything started to pour in.

"_You…you traitor! I trusted you! Don't leave me!" I cry out. My hips are throbbing in pain and I can feel my heartbeat slow down. _

_Suddenly, I'm hit with all of our moments. Good and bad. Our first meeting, our first fight, practice session, conversation, our first kiss…_

_At first I saw a dream. A dream I thought I could have with him. Now all I see is a shattered future. _

_My time is coming up, I can feel it. _

_Then the bad times comes…_

_Arguing, him pushing me away constantly, him telling me he doesn't love me anymore, him as a strigoi, and now this…_

_I feel a sharp pain in my heart. Why did this have to happen today? Why now? I had my life ahead of me! To live as a guardian beside Lissa and Dimitri was all I wanted. _

_I bring my hand back in and rest it against my chest. _

"_Dimitri…" I say as I close my eyes and take my last breath. _

I scream and fall to the ground. The pain returns stronger than ever and I close my eyes tight.

"Rose!" Lissa screams.

Now I know everything. I died. I died and have returned. Why? Why me out of all people?

"Roza, are you okay?" I flinch at the name. I feel something wet on my stomach and I bring my hand on it before lifting it back up, blood.

My eyes widened in horror and the throbbing pain in my hips has returned.

I looked down at the ground while Lissa tried to help me up.

I'm not going to die again.

I push Lissa away from me and look up. _Him._

"Why…why are you here?" I ask. He stays silent.

"Are you here to kill me again?" I snap.

"Rose…I-I,"

"_You._ You monster. You no good excuse for a guardian," I hiss. I see a hurt look in his eyes as soon as I said that. Good.

"Rose! Don't talk to him like that!" Lissa said, at my side again.

"I can say anything I want to say to him!" I yell to her. The throb in my hips have stopped and I am able to stand again.

"You should be in jail," I say in a dangerously low voice, "You shouldn't be alive." By now he looks like he's going to cry.

"Rose! Stop please," Lissa cried.

"Why should I-," I forget that I am still bleeding in my abdomen. I put a hand on it again and bring it back up to look at it.

My hand started to shake, "Why did you leave me Dimitri?"

"Roza-," he doesn't know what to say.

"Rose! You're bleeding! Why didn't you tell me that you were injured?" Lissa said frantically.

"Haven't you told her yet?" I say, ignoring that Lissa was trying to heal me. I pushed her back again.

My strength is slowly diminishing and I need to get away. I turn around, ignoring the pain, and began to quickly walk away.

"I need to get away from him. The more I see him, the more it'll hurt me." I try to catch my breath.

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DPOV

She's alive again. I don't believe it. When she walked away Lissa tried to go after her but I stopped her.

"No, let me," I suggest. She just looked at me.

"She doesn't want you near her!"

"Promise me on this," I say before I take off towards the direction Rose went. I try my best to find her but it's almost nightfall and I can't see anything clearly. I remember that I had a flashlight in my pocket. I take it out and turn it on and pointed it to the ground. What I see really surprises me. There's a trail of blood on the dead leaves. This could be hers and she's seriously injured.

I follow it for a while and it suddenly comes to a halt. There she is. She's standing at the edge of a cliff. Oh my god. She's ready to jump!

"Rose!" I shout. She must've heard me because she turned to me and she grimaced.

"Leave me alone!" She shouts back. I run to her and grab her in my arms.

"Let me go! Don't you understand? I don't want to be near you!" she screams while thrashing around in my arms but stops when she winces in pain.

"Rose! You are seriously hurt! We need to get you to a hospital!"

"Since when do you care?"

"I have always cared Roza!" I shouldn't have said that. I see the look on her face and it pains me to see that she's crying.

"No you haven't! You left me in my greatest time of need! You just stood there as you watched her kill me."

"Stop it! Just stop it!" I shout at her.

"No! I refuse to be anywhere near you!" she started to pry herself away from me. I hold on tighter and I think I put too much pressure, because she started to gasp for air.

I let go and she falls to the ground.

"I hate you!" she cries. I am too speechless to say anything and I kneel down beside her, grabbing her shoulders.

"Please leave me alone," she whispers breathlessly. I shake my head and I push her back slightly and was ready to put my arms under her but I freeze for a second when I see her eyes had close and she took a breath before fainting. She fell limp into my arms.

"Roza, stay with me please," I plead. I pick her up and started to run back to the academy.

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Tune in this weekend! Tell me what you think! ;)

-halloween265


	4. Loved, Not Love

**Note:** Dang i think school is really taking a toll on me. Haha. It's lunch right now and I'm supposed to be researching and all but come on! This chapter was actually sort of easy to write but not really. This chapter will be just in Dimitri's point of view. I found it too confusing with the going back and forth so yeah. Next update should be Saturday. Enjoy ;)

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DPOV

The snowstorm was now taking its toll on the land. Snow, the size of cotton balls, overflowed the air. We needed to get back to the academy soon or else Roza will surely die again. Not on my watch.

I pick up the pace and I'm sprinting trying to retrace my footsteps. I see the academy in sight and I see Eddie trying to guide Lissa back into the building. She's shouting and I can clearly hear what she's saying.

"Let me go! She needs my help! Eddie! Please!" She thrashed against him. Despite her punches at him, Eddie managed to keep a firm grip on her arm and gently tugged her away.

"Eddie!" I yell.

They both look at me. I look down and see Roza unconscious in my arms all bloody. She must've gone through hell just to put up the courage to come here. Then again, she didn't remember much.

"Rose!" Lissa gasped as soon as she saw Rose. She put a hand on her cheek and quickly drew it back.

"She's as cold as death. We need to get her to the ward right now." Lissa said in a hurry.

I don't say anything and continued to walk forward.

_2 hours later..._

She looks as peaceful as she did on that day.

I haven't left her side since they allowed me to see her. All that time I held her hand in mine, praying that she will overcome this and live on with her life. But we all know that her hatred for me won't change.

"Dimitri?" Lissa asked from behind me.

"What is it?" I say not taking my eyes from her. If I look away for one second, something could happen.

"What did she mean?"

"By what?"

"When she said you haven't told me yet? What did she mean by that?"

I knew this was never going to stay a secret, "Lissa…it's not easy for me to say…"

"What did she mean by 'are you here to kill me again'?" she was getting impatient.

"Liss-,"

"Save me the 'Lissa' crap Belikov! What did she mean by that? And why all of a sudden is she alive?" she shouted.

The nurse stepped in, "I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave. That young lady over there needs all the rest she can have."

"How is she?" I ask her.

"Not really good," she shook her head, "She lost a great amount of blood. Her hips were also broken at the time and it's a wonder on how she walked around like that. Was she in an accident?"

"Why?" Lissa butted in.

"It's obvious she was stabbed with something."

Lissa gasped. I groan.

"Don't think you're done talking to me Belikov. I still need to speak to you." She growled as she grabbed my arm. I look back at my Roza to make sure she's still okay. Now to face my biggest fear; the secret coming out.

Once we got into the hallway we both made sure it was clear. Lissa turned to me with a deadly look in her eye.

"Tell me everything you know Belikov," she demanded.

"Lissa…" She put her hand up to stop me.

"I want to know why Rose despised you the moment she saw you,"

"…"

"I am ordering you to tell me _Guardian _Belikov!" She spat when she said 'guardian'.

I sigh in defeat, "We were supposed to train that day," my voice was shaky, "I was waiting for Rose in the gym and then all of a sudden Tasha came in, demanding to know why I had rejected her request to become her guardian. She told me that she wouldn't give up until I said yes. But I argued back and that's when Rose came in. Tasha brought her into the conversation, screaming at her for stealing me away. But," I pause and Lissa looks at me, "But before Rose could do anything, Tasha attacked her. I didn't know Tasha had the strength to do that. She continued to attack her and I made an attempt to stop it. She saw my stake and Rose was up against the wall. She grabbed it and…" I was unable to finish off the sentence.

Lissa had tears running down her cheeks and started to shake.

"Did you do anything to stop Tasha from doing that?" she said, her voice sounding broken.

I didn't know how to answer. I only attempted to stop her once and that was it. I shook my head. Lissa gave me a death glare and punched my chest.

"I trusted you! You didn't do anything to save her!" she screamed at me.

"I was in too much of a shock to do anything!" I shouted back. She stopped and gestured for me to continue. I shook my head again.

She was about to punch me again but we both stopped when we heard a voice.

"You shouldn't be moving! You're still in a delicate condition!" the nurse said.

"I don't care. As long as I get away from this place," I heard Roza say. Before I can react, Lissa is already in the room trying to get her down on the bed.

"Rose, sit back down," she pleaded. Rose looked up at her with a emotionless face and sighed in annoyance.

"Fine,"

"Roza-," I start to say.

"You have no right to call me that anymore," she said, trying her best not to look at me.

"We need to talk," I look at Lissa, "Can you give us a minute?"

"Forget it Belikov," she warned, "You'll be lucky if you even talk to Rose again!" she shouted.

Rose looked at her and it was obvious they were communicating through the bond. Lissa angrily sighed and got up.

"You got lucky," she hissed as she walked by me.

I walk up to Roza's bed and sat down on the chair next to it.

"Rose,"

"I have no reason to why I wanted to talk to you. You should be grateful that my heart still holds some kindness towards you. Not that you deserve it." That hurt. Deeply.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing,"

She scoffed, still not looking at me, "You're pathetic do you know that? I'm awake, I'm talking, and I'm…_alive,_" she whispered the last words, which angered me.

"So you're saying that you were better off dead?" I shout.

"Maybe I was!" she shot back, "I felt no pain! I felt no anger! I wasn't rejected!"

"Can't you see it? I love you! I still am and I will never stop loving you! I know that somewhere, deep down inside," she put her hand on her chest, "You still feel the same!"

"I did, once. That need is long gone, Dimitri. I _loved_ you. I entrusted you with my soul because you promised me that you would protect me and love me. But you broke your promise," she sobbed, "You abandoned me. You left me." I took her face in between my hands.

"But you are here now," I said.

She shook her head, "I was foolish to think that I wanted to spend my life beside you,"

"Yes you were," I heard a voice say from the door. Oh god.

"Stay away from us _Ozera,_" I said with as much hate as I could.

"'Us'? From what I see, you two don't look like an 'us'."

"Why did you bring her here?" I hear Rose say from beside me. I look at her to see that she looks hurt.

"I didn't-,"

"So Dimka, have you considered my offer like you said you would?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Her offer?" Roza hissed.

"Ozera, I never said anything about an offer."

"Stop lying to yourself Dimka,"

"Why are you here?" I ask her.

"To-," but she didn't finish. At that point, Lissa had jumped on her from behind. While both on the floor, Lissa regained her posture and started to beat the living crap out of T-Ozera.

"What is all the ruckus about?" Adrian said, coming into the ward. Why does it have to be now that all of a sudden people are coming in?

He looked around the room frantically and once his eyes rested on Rose, he stopped.

"Ivashkov! Get her off me!" Tasha screamed, her face all bloody. Good.

Adrian snapped back into reality and grabbed Lissa off of her.

"No!" Lissa screamed wildly.

Rose stood up quickly but she lost her balance and fell to the floor.

"Rose!" everybody cried out. She stayed there for a moment, her eyes shut tight in pain. But she shook it off quickly and used the table next to her to help her up. Now that she was standing, I watched her slowly make her way to Lissa.

"Lissa," she put both of her hands on each side of her face, "Give it to me." She whispered.

Lissa was shocked, "No! We just got you back Rose! I can't stand another minute of you in pain!"

"Do it for me," she whimpered. I have never heard her say anything like that.

"Rose…" Lissa said before closing her eyes. Tense moment barely passed and I saw Rose's hand make a fist.

"Roza!" I yelled as I grabbed her into my arms.

"Get. Away. From. Me." She growled.

"No," I said firmly. Although I knew my answer was going to be the death of me. I felt her tense up greatly and I tightened my grip on her. Minutes passed and I knew she was still trying to fight it. Adrian, Lissa, and Ozera were outside in the hall arguing.

"Roza," I murmured. I felt so helpless. She didn't have the strength she used to. Back then she would've been able to handle it because I was always there. Now, she won't accept help from me. Damn I'd be lucky if she even started to trust me again. Soon she fell limp and I held her in my arms and carried her back to the bed.

I must've fallen asleep beside her because when I woke up, she wasn't there. I stood up so fast I almost fell but that didn't matter. Rose was gone again.

I had called Ivashkov to help me find her and we searched the school for any sign. We couldn't tell the students anything and we hoped on keeping it like that. We couldn't just go up to them and say 'hey have you seen Rosemarie Hathaway? The girl who died two years ago, have you seen her?' Man that would be pathetic.

I run outside and I see my Roza standing in the middle of the snow covered field. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere because she was looking up at the night sky. I walked up to her and she had already sensed my presence.

"Why are you following me?" She asked, not bothering to look at me.

"I have come to take you home," I respond.

"I have no home," She forced out.

"Then come with me," I pleaded.

She looked at me. Her eyes are so lifeless and they show no emotion whatsoever.

"Why should I?"

"Why? Roza…" I pause, "You are alive again. You should be able to live life to the fullest, not by going around living in despair."

"I am not fully alive. Part of my soul is dead. I cannot live life to the fullest if one has no complete soul."

"Then we will find that missing part of your soul,"

"I am scarred for life Dimitri. As long as I live off my hatred towards you, I will stay alive. If I drift from it, I will lose myself in the process and become nothing more than a soulless and useless dhampir." She finished with a hurt look but she was able to mask it well.

"You are not useless!" I said.

"Then what other reasons are there for me to live for?"

"Me. You have me. God damnit Rose! I will never stop loving you! How hard is it for you to believe that? What will I have to do to get you to believe me?" I asked furiously. Can't she see that my love for her is pure and never ending?

"You can do that by staying away from me," she whispered. I stood frozen.

"You don't really mean that…"

"I'm not the person I once was Dimitri. The old Rose no longer exists,"

"Then what will you do?"

"I want to know why I was brought back all of a sudden. It's not natural for someone to be brought back from the dead and live again."

"Then I will help you find this person," I walked to her. She backed away.

"No, you're duty is to Lissa. They come first," She started to walk away but I ran up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Promise me. Promise me you'll be safe," I hugged her. She tensed.

"I can't keep a promise I don't intend to keep," she said before walking away from me. I took one last look at her. This might be the last look. She looked at me and continued to walk till she was out of sight. I fell to my knees and landed on my back on the snow. I instantly saw what had caught her attention. There was a meteor shower.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, debating whether or not to go after Rose. But then her voice came to me again.

"_They come first."_ Now I knew how she felt about me. No matter how hard she tried to be with me, I pushed her away, telling her that the Moroi were more important than our lives. Now the roles have been reversed.

How did it all come down to this? Why did it have to end like this?

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Dun dun dun! I had a little trouble with this because i didn't want Rose to go straight into Dimitri's arms and says that she forgives him i mean come on! i've seen so many stories like that and it bores me to death. no offence but it's so cliche. Thanks to everybody who reviewed and put this on favs or alerts. Not even 5 chapters into the story and i have more author alerts and story alerts and favorite story than i do on my other one! Thank you guys! The reviews really make my day.

Remember, stick up them reviews or the file gets it. Nah im not that mean lol. but really tell me what you think of the chapter. in my opinion, i kind of liked it when Tasha got her ass handed to her.

til then

-halloween265


	5. Suffering

**Note:** Here's chapter...uh... i think 5. yeah here's chapter 5.

I don't own Adrian or Dimitri D:

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RPOV

I can't stand being near him anymore. I have moved on, although my heart says otherwise. My heart is saying that I should take Dimitri's advice and live life to the fullest but my mind is saying that it's a waste of time and that I should stay focused.

I can't believe him. Toying with my emotions like that. First I thought he loved me as much as I did him, but then he turns his back on me. What a fool I was. After my run in with Dimitri, I walked and walked through fields getting as far away from the academy.

"Going somewhere Little Dhampir?" a voice asked behind me. Crap.

I don't say anything as I turn around. Adrian.

"Why are you here, Adrian?" I ask in a serious tone.

"Dimitri and Lissa said something about you and they told me where they last saw you."

"But that's not really the reason why you're here. You never listen to Dimitri and you never follow orders from Lissa."

"Do you think they would lie about something like this?"

"No," I look away from him, "I guess not."

"Little Dhampir come back with me," he asked.

I looked at him with my guardian mask, "Why should I? Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I don't want the whole world knowing I'm alive again after two years."

"We'll make a cover-up story,"

"It's not easy Adrian. _He's_ there. I can't stand being another minute there with him. It hurts too much."

"Then do it for me," He pleaded. I looked at him in shock.

"Adrian-,"

In a second he was in front of me and embracing me in a bone crushing hug. I tensed and didn't move.

"Then I'll go with you. Dimitri told me that you went off to find whoever brought you back. I want to come with you,"

I was speechless. I couldn't say anything because there was nothing else to say. I slowly put my arms around his waist and hugged him back. I hate being so weak. I let go and I reach for my stake and put it against his neck. I hold it there and he stares at me.

"No, Adrian," I said, with no emotion, "I need to do this alone. I can't have anybody risk their life for a half-dead person. My soul cannot rest in peace until I slay the person who did this and slay the one who made me like this in the first place. I'm sorry Adrian." I let the stake down. I couldn't hurt Adrian even if I wanted to. He looks down at me. I was hoping he would get angry and leave for me doing that to him but he looks at me lovingly.

He leans down and kisses my forehead, "I understand. But if you find the will to come back, will you give me another chance?"

"Adrian," I look up at him.

"I understand what he did was unforgivable. But I promise you, I will be there for you. I won't hurt you like he did."

I step back, "Don't waste your life for something like me, Adrian."

"I don't care, I won't give up on you," He said, confident. I gave him a sad smile.

"Bye, Adrian. Tell Lissa I'll be back," I turn around and continue my adventure. Adrian doesn't follow and I'm glad he didn't.

I can't love him. It'll hurt too much.

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APOV

I calmly walk back to the academy. Now Rose was alive again. As I walk I think back on our conversation.

"_My soul cannot rest in peace until I slay the person who did this and slay the one who made me like this in the first place," _

"_Don't waster you life for something like me," _

I'm going to kill Belikov when I get back. I see Lissa and Christian in sight and once they see me they run over to me. I told them I wouldn't come back unless I found Rose.

"How is she? Is she okay? Where is she going? Is there any chance she will let us help her?" Whoa, way too many questions!

"Calm down Lissa. She's alright."

She looked behind me, "Then why isn't she with you?"

"She said she wanted to find who brought her back. It's clear she doesn't want to be at the academy. But she said she'll come back for you." I answer honestly. She looks like she's about to cry but because of the nice person she is, she understood and walked away.

While walking in the hallway, I can just picture me beating Belikov to a pulp. As if on cue, the devil himself turned around the corner. It took all my strength not to take him out right now.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"Why didn't you bring Rose back?" he asked, putting his guardian mask on.

"I respected her wishes. I didn't force her back. Apparently, being near you hurts her."

He flinched, "And you think you're somehow better than me?"

Something inside me must've snapped because I was angry, "I've always been better than you! I loved Rose with all my heart! When she was with you I only stayed away because I knew she was happy and I didn't want to do anything to upset her. I knew I couldn't trust you with her! Now that she's back I will do all in my power to keep her away from you!"

"I'm not giving up on her. I still love her," he walked up to me.

"Well she's given up on you. She's afraid that history will repeat itself. Not with me."

"Please Ivashkov," He scoffed, "With your history of women, I highly doubt it." That is it! I don't care if Rose hates me for the rest of her life, but he seriously needs an ass-whooping right now. I charge at him and he is completely caught off guard. I push him back and punch him in the jaw and he stumbles back. He looks at me with a disgusted face.

"You'll pay for that Ivashkov!" He head butted me and we both fell back. He's on top of me and punching me in the face and the chest. I bring my arm up and punched his cheek, causing him to fall to his side. I have trouble getting up and so is he. I regain my posture and kick him in the stomach. He coughs and knocks me off my feet and I hit the ground hard.

"Belikov! Ivashkov! Stop!" Lissa screams. I glance at her and notice that someone is there with her.

"Adrian…" She pleads. I stop. I thought she left! I look up again and I see Rose. She came back.

I smile but my happiness is cut short when Dimitri punches me in the jaw again. I heard a sickening crack and I felt it out of place.

"Dimitri!" Lissa and Rose put their arms around Dimitri, restraining him from punching me more.

All of a sudden Rose fell to her knees gasping for air.

"Rose," I run to her. I look into her eyes and it tells everything. She touched him and that must've triggered something. I pick her up and walk away. What really picks up my mood is that Lissa is yelling at the cradle-robber.

I look down at Rose and I see tears sliding down her cheek. I feel so bad. Every time she sees Belikov, touches him, smells his scent, it brings back bad memories and causes her pain.

"Adrian…" She whispers.

"Are you okay Rose?" She is so vulnerable.

"I came back…for you…" She smiled and fell asleep.

I hope everything will be okay for now. I walk to my room and set her down on the bed. I turn around and see a very pissed of Dimitri. Too bad, I couldn't went on a second round, but Lissa was there too.

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Dun Dun Dun! I need four reviews before I will update. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

-halloween265


	6. Unforgiving Memories

**Note:** I really appreciate you guys loving my story! I have a lot of requests for Adrian and Rose to end up together. Also for Dimitri and Rose. Seriously, i have no idea how this is going to end. I love both pairings but I don't know which to choose. Sometime later on in the story I will maybe let you guys do the voting and that will be who she ends up with or I do it MY way. Mwahaha! Sorry. I have no school for the rest of this week because of Thanksgiving so I will try to update tomorrow but, it's really not that hard to come up with ideas. Enjoy. :D

I don't own Vampire Academy. If I did, I would be rich.

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APOV

What does he want now? Lissa gestured me to go out into the hallway. I looked back at Rose and reluctantly went outside.

"Why is he here?" I growl at Dimitri. He doesn't look at me but rather the door. I step in front of the door and lean against it.

"You two really need to straighten out your problems! I know that both of you love and care for Rose but think about it! She can't stand the sight of both of you getting hurt!" Lissa shouted.

"What makes you think that she can't stand the sight of him being hurt? I bet she just enjoyed the sight of you getting you're ass handed to you." I say to Dimitri.

"How dare you?" Dimitri stepped up to me.

"You can't really threaten me or hurt me Belikov," I scoff, "Because I can have your ass out of here before you can say 'Hey'."

"Hey," Dimitri said in a bored tone. This guy was really pushing my buttons.

"Stop it both of you! Rose is finally back. And if all you guys are going to do is fight, then _I _will keep her away from both of you!" Lissa snapped.

"You said so yourself, Princess. She can't live without either of us." Dimitri said to her.

"Well maybe not you for that matter," I say, adjusting my collar.

"You're really pushing my buttons _Ivashkov_,"

"Am I? I didn't realize anything," I teased.

"Stop it!" Lissa hissed.

"All I want to do is see Rose," Dimitri said to Lissa more than me.

"…Sure," She forced out, "But remember, I got my eye on you," She warned.

"Thank you," he nodded his head and entered the room. Lissa and I watched with a cautious eye as he sat down by the bed where Rose was sitting. Once he sat down, he grabbed her hand and kissed it. Anger dwelled inside of me. He shouldn't be able to touch her, ever. Lissa must've sensed my anger because she placed a hand on my shoulder and it calmed me.

"He has no intention to harm her now," she said calmly, "We should give them some privacy."

"After what he's done? He shouldn't even allow him to go near her!" I shouted. She ran up to me and put her hand over my mouth.

"Everybody needs privacy, Adrian," she looked at me seriously, "It's just not about you. It's about her. Now that she's back I don't want her to do something reckless. She won't die on me again. You don't realize how hard it was for me to watch her die in front of me!" She cried.

"You were there?"

"Not when she was hurt. But yes, I was there when she took her last breath," Her voice started to crack up.

"Lissa," I hugged her. She was there…when she died.

"When I got to her, it was already too late. She looked at me and smiled for the last time. I tried to heal her but it did no good. I eventually gave up, as much as I didn't want to. When I woke up in the ward…"

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LPOV

That night…

'_Rose…' I thought through the bond._

'…'

'_Are you still there?'_

'…'

'_Oh god, please answer me!' _

'…'

'_Rose…please…' I whimpered. _

'_Bye…Lissa…' Rose said weakly._

'_No! Don't leave me! I still need you! I can't live without you!'_

'_Take...care….' And with that I felt the bond slip and break. I woke up gasping for air. _

"_She's finally awake!" A nurse in front of me shouted. _

"_Thank goodness!" Another nurse said. _

"_Whe-Where's Rose?" I asked them weakly. They look at each other and stay silent._

"_Where is she?" I screech. Just as I was about to use compulsion on them to tell me, I see another small bed next to time. A body is on it with a white blanket covering it and an arm is hanging out of the side. _

"_R-Rose?" I scream. I can't move much so I try to reach for her. My hand briefly touches hers and it's so cold. She's gone. I reach out further and I grasp her hand tightly in mine. I cry like there's no tomorrow. _

_I hold on to her hand. I'm not ready to let go. I keep thinking that at any moment she will come to her senses and squeeze my hand. But that only happens in fairytales. And this isn't a fairytale. It's a nightmare. _

"_Princess," the nurse said while trying to pull my hand back. Despite how weak I was right now, I only held on tighter. _

"_No," I croaked, "I'm not letting go…" _

_My eyes started to feel red and puffy. With my free hand, I touch my cheek and it feels like a river. _

"_Don't leave me, Rose. Please," I whimper. _

_The nurse talks to me, "She's gone, Princess. She lost too much blood. I'm so sorry. But you're weak. You can't heal her." _

"_No!" I scream. I cry so hard and I scream. _

"_She's out of control!" the nurse cried. _

"_Put her to sleep again." _

"_Don't. You. Dare. Come. Near. Me." I didn't even recognize my own voice. _

"_We have no choice. Sorry, Princess." And then it went black. _

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DPOV

They let me inside. I can't believe it.

The moment I go into the room, I sit down and grab her hand and kiss it gently. Even though she's wrapped up in all these blankets with the heater on, she's cold as death.

"Roza…" I rest my hand on her hand, "I don't expect you to listen to me right now. But hear what I have to say."

I look up at her and she's still asleep. The rise and fall of her chest is enough proof that she will be just fine.

"Roza…I'm so sorry. But even I now that you will never forgive me. After you left…

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That same night…

_We both ran as fast as we could. As soon as I realized that I was with Tasha, I panicked. I turned around, ready to report what she did when she forced me back._

"_No! Please don't leave me alone! I don't know what to do!" She cried. _

"_That's not my fault! Let me go! I need to report you!" I shouted._

_She scoffed, "Are you forgetting something? You were there! You stood there! You could've done something but you didn't," She turned around, "You didn't do anything for her, Dimitri. Blame yourself." She said as she walked away. _

_As much as I hated it, she was right. _

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I was crying. I told her everything and I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. The thing is, she was still asleep. Or so I thought. My head was down the whole time I told her and I looked up. She was awake.

"Roza…" I started. She stared straight ahead but I saw that her eyes were trying to process everything I said.

She looked at me and I sucked in a breath. I saw a little bit of a chocolate brown color return to her eyes. When I first saw her that day, they were a grayish color. No life. Half a soul. Half dead. Did everything I say have an effect on her like it did me?

It stayed quiet for a while before she looked from me to where my hand was on top of hers. She squeezed it a little before slipping her hand out. I felt a pang in my chest and I reluctantly pulled mine back too.

Why won't I say anything?

But Rose beat me to it, "Are you really that sorry?" She asked in a quiet voice.

I looked at her and grabbed her hand again. She flinched.

"Yes. A million times yes. I would give you anything just to have you forgive me," I squeezed her hand a little.

"But how can I forgive the person who did nothing to stop my death?"

"If I could have any wish, I would go back to that time to stop it. I was a fool," My eyes were starting to water a little bit.

"Would you, Dimitri?" She asked seriously.

That question shocked me. Of course! But how would I need to prove that? I did the impossible. I kissed her…before Adrian and Lissa entered the room.

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Dun Dun Dun! Review! I need four! I'm not as bossy as other authors but I will keep mine fair. I do love reviews because they make my day :D

Til tomorrow

-halloween265


	7. Expect the Unexpected

**Note:** My other story is finally done but a lot of ppl are requesting that i do a sequel. So i decided not yet. Because I want to focus only on this and my other story. Anyways, I won't update tomorrow because of Thanksgiving but I will on Friday! Enjoy :D

Thanks to **VampireBookAddict, JACOBS-GURL-FOREVER, Jee007, disha, Hilary33, Nefarious1972, 3lexi3angelsm13, Autumnmoon217, nobes, deja, AnaidT, Twilighternproud, and PRINCESSKATERINA** for reviewing!

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RPOV

I'm not ready to forgive him. Not yet. Not so early. But when he told me everything, something inside me clicked and I felt something warm inside my chest. I looked at Dimitri and saw that he sucked in a breath. What?

I looked down from him to where I saw his hand on top of mine. I squeezed it just a little before pulling my hand back and I saw him do the same. He had a hurt look in his face.

I decided it was time to get an answer, "Are you really that sorry?" He looked at me and grabbed my hand again. I flinched.

"Yes. A million times yes. I would give you anything just to have you forgive me," He tightened his hand on mine.

"But how can I forgive the person who did nothing to stop my death?"

"If I could have any wish, I would go back to that time to stop it. I was a fool," He said as tears were started to form in his eyes. I felt like tears were coming too. Crap I'm getting soft.

When I was alive I saw love as something great, a once in a lifetime thing for someone like me. Now I see love as a weakness, nothing more than a pitiful emotion. My love for Dimitri has subsided but I feel something, like a force trying to unleash those unwanted feelings every time I see him or talk to him. I need to stay strong. I won't die a second time and have history repeat itself.

"Would you, Dimitri?" I ask seriously. I need to know the truth. If we were in a life-threatening situation, would he save his life to protect me or his charge? He would never be able to save both of us, even with time. One always loses. Would he go through all the trouble in the world just to have me at least trust him? Or would it be something more?

He looked like he was having trouble deciding on what to say. I guess that answer says it all. I was ready to tell myself to leave the room and leave him behind forever when he put his hand behind my neck, and pulling me in for a kiss. Then that was when Adrian and Lissa came in.

I kept telling myself that it was just a kiss and nothing else, that there was nothing to it. I didn't respond and I pulled back. The moment my lips left his I felt that force deep inside me thrash uncontrollably, desperate to get out. All of a sudden I felt tired. I closed my eyes and focused.

'_No. I won't go through this again.'_ I thought to myself. I think everybody thought I was in pain, because they all ran up to me.

"Are you okay?" Adrian said, pushing Dimitri out of the way.

"I'm fine Adrian," I told him calmly, my voice void of emotion.

I felt so exposed, having to let them see me like this. Adrian had my face in between his hands and Lissa was on the other side of the bed, gently holding my hand, and Dimitri was standing at the edge of the bed, concern clearly showing on his face.

"If you say so," Adrian said, defeated. While we all looked at each other in silence a knock was heard on the door. Lissa reluctantly got up from the bed and opened it.

"There's been an emergency," A voice said. I knew who it was.

Lissa looked at me to the bed and then looked back to the person in front of her. She nodded and she slowly opened the door. She shot me a look of sympathy before I saw my mother walk towards me. For once I was actually scared of her. She walked to the side of my bed and stood there, crossing her arms.

"You're back," she said, unsure of herself.

I didn't say anything. She looked at me before sitting down on the bed and hugged me. I felt myself tense greatly. She tightened her grip on me and I thought I would have a few broken ribs here and there. This was so unexpected. Not only was I in shock, but everybody else in the room.

"Rose," She sniffed as she let go. As much as I hated it, I wanted her to keep holding me. Never before had I felt so safe.

"How? When?" She stuttered. Wow. The awesome kick ass Janine Hathaway is speechless. I quickly recovered myself and tried not to think about it so much.

"We'll tell you that later," Dimitri said, "What was the emergency?"

She looked at me then to him, "There's been a report of Strigoi attacks on other academy's and cities. It's obvious they're looking for something."

"What are we going to do then?" Dimitri asked.

"We have to double security and double everything. It's not good. Where's Ozera?" She looked around the room.

"He's in his room," Lissa said.

"Does he know?"

"About what?" Adrian asked.

"Tasha's gone missing. We don't know where she went. Two hours ago she went out of the academy in a rush with a group of dhampirs but never returned." Okay normally I wouldn't care for Tasha, but I have a bad feeling she did something bad. If something happens to all those I care about, it'll be my entire fault.

I sighed and got up out of the bed and walked to the door.

"Where are you going, Rose?" Lissa ran up to me.

'_I just need some fresh air,' _I told her through the bond.

'_I'll send Adrian with you. He's not very happy that Dimitri kissed you all of a sudden.'_

'_Great. I get resurrected all of a sudden and I have two guys fighting for my love. Can this get any worse?'_

'_Just talk to Adrian please? He's really hurting.'_

I sighed in defeat. "Yeah, tell him I'll be outside." And I walked away.

This place brings back good memories, and bad ones. Even though I would never admit it to anyone, I actually missed this place. I sneak out the window to make sure that nobody notices my presence. Only a few people know I'm back, and I will keep it like that. I turn around only to see that Adrian was already outside.

"Hey little dhampir," He smiled sadly.

"You're fast if you're already down here before me," I walk up to him and sit down on the snowy ground.

"Here, take my jacket. It's freezing cold out here and I don't want you to get sick." He said.

I shake my head, "No, keep your jacket on. I don't feel anything actually." _'It's one of the side effects of being half-dead.'_

"Are you sure?"

"I'll be fine, Adrian. Nothings going to happen to me," I reassure him.

He stares at me for the longest time but for some strange reason, I don't feel annoyed by it.

"Like what you see?" I tease. I'm glad that I have some of my usual spunk back.

He grinned widely, "Yes." But his smile falters and I know what he's going to talk about next, "Are you back with Dimitri?" He sounded hurt. I close my eyes.

"Adrian, there is no me and Dimitri, and there never will be. That was the past," I say to him.

"So, what will you do now?" he asked, "Now that you're back?"

"I will do what I was meant to do. Protect Lissa, and I don't care if she gets another guardian. But that guardian will go through a bunch of crap with me to decide if he's worthy or not," I smile.

"Oh man, I can see it already. Poor guy," He teased. I smiled bigger. For some reason I can't laugh. Maybe it's too early for that.

"Aw, this sight is so lovely! Too bad it has to end like this," a sneer came from behind us. I immediately got in a protective stance in front of Adrian. I looked at the intruder and couldn't believe my eyes. It was Tasha.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss at her. She just smiled at me and I can easily see the red in her eyes. Crap!

"I came for you," She growled. I grabbed my stake out and held it firm in my hand. For a life-threatening situation, I'm surprisingly calm.

"Then come and get me," I challenge. Adrian stiffened behind me and he whispered into my ear.

"You're not strong enough, Rose! You'll get hurt!"

"Run, Adrian." I tell him but my eyes don't leave Tasha and her 'used to be guardians'.

"No!" he shouted.

"You said you wanted to help me, Adrian. Then go and get help." I say coldly. He hesitated before finally leaving me and running quickly back to the academy. One of the strigoi head for him at lightning speed, he was fast, but I was faster. Before he can get half a foot passed me, I bring my right arm out and my stake hits him straight in the chest. He falls back onto the hard cold ground and I see the 'life' leave his eyes but I decided to be nice and end his misery. I put my right foot out and step on his chest. He choked and died on the spot.

I looked at Tasha who was merely watching in amusement.

"I'll see how you can do." She smirked and stepped back. The strigoi next to her was a guy I once knew. He charged at me this time and I gracefully ducked on the ground while he shot right pass me. He stopped and I took the opportunity. I ran to him and hit him in the chest. I must've had some strength because he was flying back at least ten feet. I reach for my stake and I realize that I left it on the other strigoi I killed. He got back up and grinned, knowing I didn't have it with me. I turn around quickly and run to my stake. He ran after me at the same time and I knew it was going to be close.

I was a foot away from my stake and he was a foot away from me. It all went in slow motion after that. He grabbed my leg and I felt myself fall forward. My stake was just in arms reach and he was just inches from my neck.

'_No. I won't die again!'_ My fingers found the tip of the stake and I pulled it out. I turned around in midair and saw that his face was inches from mine. In a flash I brought up the stake and pierced him in the chest. I fell down on the ground and the dead strigoi right on top of me. My heart was pounding mad but it slowed down in a matter of seconds. I pushed the strigoi off of me and got up cautiously. No one was around. What the hell?

I shot my head from side to side. But what I didn't know was that Tasha was right behind me.

"Looking for me?" She sneered and hit me. I brought up my arms to defend myself from her hit but the force of it was too hard and I flew back twenty feet. I hit the ground hard again. Shit, where the hell is everybody?

I felt myself getting dizzy and I saw that another strigoi was standing next to me. This one was easy to take out. I hit his legs, hard, causing him to lose his footing. He fell backwards and once he made contact with the ground, I brought up my stake and killed him quickly.

"I'm surprised, Rosemarie. You managed to take out my best guards." She clasped her hands in front of her.

"Best? They weren't even worth fighting!" I spat.

Her smile faltered, "This isn't over Rosemarie."

"It's Rose to you, _Ozera_. And who said it was over?"

She shook her head and saw that everybody was heading over to where I was. Alberta, Stan, Eddie, Dimitri, and my mom stopped when they saw Tasha. She smirked at them before glaring at me.

She started to walk back to where the trees were, "I will see to it that you will die once and for all. A person only gets a second chance once!" She shouted before disappearing into the trees.

I stared after her. She was wrong. I wasn't going to die again. Not ever. I will see to it that _she_ will die once and for all.

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Whoa dang! Oh snap! Review! It's going to get better and better I promise. :D

-halloween265


	8. Don't Let Go

**Note:** Okay I'm sorry i didn't update yesterday so to make up for it I put the next chapter into this one to make it long. I'll try to update tomorrow because I'm starting to get behind on my homework and I realized I denied a lot of work for my other story Face Behind the Mask. Now that it's complete I'll be catching up all day tomorrow and Sunday so i'm not sure if I get to update. Also I'm going to continue my other story Blossoms in Winter Snow so I'll be busy.

Thanks to **AnaidT, PRINCESSKATERINA, and JACOBS-GURL-FOREVER **for the wonderful reviews.

I don't own anything except the plot

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RPOV

"Rose, are you alright?" Dimitri asked beside me. He put a hand on my shoulder and I flinched away. I shot him a death glare and walked past him. I could feel his sad eyes looking at me but I decided to ignore him.

"Alberta, we need to double the security here at the academy." I saw as I walk pass her. But she stops me when she called out my name.

"Rose, she's after you more than any of us. It's you that needs the protection." She said to me.

I look back at her, "But she will try to use you guys against me. It's not just me she's after." I look at Dimitri on the last sentence. We look at each other again for the longest time until Alberta broke the silence.

"Okay, we will double security. But Rose, you need to have someone with you at all times." She pleaded.

"I'll do it," Adrian offered.

"You're not a guardian, _Ivashkov_," Dimitri scolded.

"But I'll do a better job at protecting her than you. At least I won't leave her," He snapped. I think Dimitri had had enough of his shit because he looked angry beyond anything I have ever seen.

"Watch your mouth, Ivashkov," He always spat Adrian's name and I knew the reason why.

"Okay!" Alberta yelled as she got in between them. I hadn't noticed that they were almost chest to chest giving each other glares and death threats. Dimitri was taller than Adrian but he looked like he could take on Dimitri any time.

"Guardian Belikov, you will guard Rose on your time off," I saw Adrian grimace when she said this and I saw Dimitri give him a look that clearly said 'In your face', "Adrian, you will continue with your classes but you and Guardian Castile will look after Rose when Guardian Belikov is on duty. I don't want any of you fighting, got it?" She said in a serious tone. I had to smile a little at their faces but my smile faltered when Adrian made his way over to me.

"I'll take you to your room," Adrian offered, gently grabbing my hand. I was about to say I was fine by myself when I felt Dimitri tug on my arm.

"It's past curfew, _Lord Ivashkov_," He forced out, "I'll escort her to her room."

I felt like I was the peanut butter and jelly stuck in between two breads; one guy holding my hand gently and another holding my arm with tender care. Oh boy.

"Guys, you may not realize this but," They both looked at me, "I don't have a room any more." I shouldn't have said that, because now they had a look of pure surprise on their faces. And I knew what the next fight was going to be about. I gently pulled both my arms out of their hold and turned to face them.

"Guys, seriously, this has got to stop. Our lives are in danger and you're wasting your time fighting for my feelings. I appreciate that all of you are risking your lives for me but don't abandon your posts for me. I'll be fine." I turned to walk away. I don't need a room because I no longer have the need to sleep. But I should get a rest every now and then.

As soon as I no longer felt them behind me, I walked to the nearest tree and climbed it. I climbed it until I was close to the top before settling down on the branch, with my back to the bark. I can easily patrol from here. A few minutes pass and I close my eyes taking a deep breath, focusing on the area around me. For some reason, I can hear much better and I can sense things that I shouldn't.

I take another breath and sniff the air. Nothing. No one is around and there is no danger. It is dark out and I stare at the starry night sky. My mind replays everything that has happened in the past hour.

"_I will see to it that you will die once and for all. A person only gets a second chance once!"_

She's right. A person does get a second chance once. Then my mind switches to what Dimitri said to me.

"_You are alive again. You should be able to live life to the fullest, not by going around living in despair."_

How his words really got to me. I've only been back for not even two days. I put my hand where my heart is. I noticed so far that my heart beats when I'm awake. But when I'm asleep, it stops. I don't know why. Maybe it's another side effect of being half-dead.

I look up at the sky once again and I actually pray to whoever is listening to me.

Oh how I long for a complete soul.

_The next day…_

The sun is coming up and I thank it. I think something is wrong with me. I climb down the tree and I see Eddie heading my way, running frantically.

"Eddie, what is it?" I ask him. He stops to catch his breath.

"It's Lissa, she's gone missing!" He gasped. I froze.

"What happened?" So far, I'm doing a really good job at keeping my emotions under control.

"I was escorting her back to her dorm," He paused, "And all of a sudden I hear music playing."

"Music?"

"Yeah. It was really beautiful. I think someone was playing a flute or something. I was going to search for it when I noticed that Lissa was following the sound. I caught up to her and she wasn't herself. I tried to stop her but she kept walking. I even used all my strength to block her. But she didn't bulge and I felt something hit my head. That's all I remember." He said in just a few breaths. He's really panicking. So I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Eddie, don't worry. I will find her. Did you tell Alberta?"

He nodded, "Yeah. But she's not going to let you go."

"You guys can't keep protecting me. I'm going, whether she likes it or not." And both of us headed to the entrance where everybody was panicking.

"Rose," Alberta rushed to me, "Are you sure you're going?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm going." I noticed that Dimitri stiffened as soon as he heard my answer.

She looked at me for a moment and then gestured me to get into the van. At least ten guardians were in there. Three were in the front, four were roughly in the middle but they didn't mind, and three in the back. I was in the back. And guess who with? Why does fate torture me so?

After an hour or so after driving and trying to find clues, I let myself slip into Lissa's head.

I can't see a damn thing with all this fog in the way! Wait…that music. Was it the one Eddie was talking about?

I saw Lissa turn to her side and I saw all the other Moroi that were following. It's like there being controlled. She looked ahead and I can see a figure leading the group. He must be the flute player person. I try my best to see past the fog but all I can make out is a very tall guy, very muscular, and that's it. With the fog, I can't see where the hell she is. They continue to walk and the fog finally clears up. Now I wish it hadn't.

They stopped in front of a cave. Not only did it look frightening as hell, but there were a group of Strigoi at the front.

"I brought a bunch of them with me. One of them is the Dragomir Princess. You owe me for her." The flute player said.

The Strigoi just laughed, "We don't owe you shit."

"We'll see about that." And the flute player started playing again. For a moment he had them, but another Strigoi managed to snap out of it before killing him.

"Potential bastard," He spat on the corpse. He then came up to the crowd and stopped right in front of Lissa. I just wanted to punch the smile off his face.

"Well, well, well, I guess it seems we finally have the Princess in our possession." He teased, grabbing a lock of her hair before sniffing it. She shuddered under his touch and I felt disgusted at this. I needed to get out. But I wouldn't leave. The next thing I knew, the Strigoi were biting the other Moroi beside her. She screamed and I screamed.

"Roza! Wake up!" A voice shouted to me. I felt someone shake me and I sat up, realizing that I was leaning on _him_ while I was out.

"Rose, what happened?" Alberta asked from the front.

"We need to get there quickly! They're killing everyone!" I said in a rush.

"Do you know where they are?" Shit. I hadn't thought of that.

I closed my eyes and I felt myself flying through the air, trying to find Lissa. The memories of what happened returned to me and I recognized the area. I saw burned trees nearby. A fire had broken out because of stupid human campers a while back.

"They're at the cave close to where that old fire broke out." She nodded and I looked at the trees passing us. We were probably going 100 miles an hour. My mind then switched to when I woke up. He called me 'Roza' again. I couldn't help but feel the pressure going on in my chest. The throbbing was getting more fierce and wild. At some point later on it's going to crash down on me and I will then cease to exist.

"We're here," Was all Alberta said before we headed out. I was surprised to see that it was already sundown. But what shocked me most was the color of the moon. It was red. I couldn't find any other words to describe it. Dangerous, terrifying, deadly, dazzling, beautiful…any word I would call it would probably insult it.

I guess everybody caught me looking at the moon and so they looked up. Many of them gasped and others started to talk about nonsense that I couldn't make out.

"Guys! Let's hurry and get the Moroi and get the hell out of here!" I shout to them. They looked at me in shock and nodded in agreement. Just as I was about to head to the entrance with Alberta, a hand pulled me back.

"Be safe. Please," Dimitri pleaded. I took my arm back from him and nodded without a single word.

Alberta and I cautiously walked through the entrance of the cave with out stakes in hand. It was pitch black that we couldn't see a thing but for some reason I didn't hurt myself.

"They're here. I smell them," I heard someone say up ahead.

"Why don't we kill them and get out meal done and over with?" Another person asked.

"I guess you're right," then we heard movement. Alberta and I braced ourselves against the rock hard wall and stood quiet. We heard the sound of footsteps come closer and closer. It was so quiet but the only thing I heard was everybody's heartbeat. That may just be the end of us.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are _dhampirs_," A Strigoi spat the word 'dhampir'. I felt a twinge of anger but I quickly calmed myself.

We stood there for what seemed like a millennia before I finally heard them stop a few feet away.

"Don't think you're fooling us dhampirs! We know exactly where you are," That was when we finally made our move. I lunged for the Strigoi near me. It was a miracle that I even knew where he was. If not, then I would've run straight into the wall.

I quickly grabbed my stake and killed the Strigoi with no problem. Alberta and everybody else including Dimitri were too busy fighting all the Strigoi that surrounded them. I wanted to help but then a voice came into my head.

_They come first._

I hesitated and that was the first rule of Dimitri's. Never hesitate. Without thinking anymore I ran to where they were keeping the Moroi. I kicked open every door but they were empty. I finally got to an abandoned hall and I heard cries. Jackpot. I leaned up against every door, making sure that I will open the right one.

'Lissa, don't you dare give up on me now.' I growled through the bond. I came up against the last door, hoping that it will be the one. Bingo. The cries were coming from here. I stepped back and kicked the door open and walked in. All of the Moroi were there except for a few. They were dead and it made me kind of sick. I frantically searched the room and saw Lissa huddled up in a corner.

"Lissa," I say to her. She's shaking and tears are running down her face.

"Lissa, everything's going to be fine. I'm here now." I try to calm her down but it looks like she can't hear me. Instead of making her come to her senses, I picked her up and order the other Moroi to follow me. They follow without hesitation but when I get to the entrance, Tasha is already there.

"I had a feeling you might be here," She grinned widely. I back up.

'_Lissa, I'll distract her. When I do, you and the others run. Run and don't look back. Don't come back until you've warned the others to get out of here. Tell Dimitri to get you guys out of here as soon as possible!'_

'_But Rose, she'll kill you!'_

'_I was never meant to come back. I was never for this world.' _As much as I hated it, I no longer belonged here. This place is meant for the living, not the dead.

'_Okay, Rose. But I will come back for you.'_ I nodded and set her down. Tasha thought that I must've put her down because she was hurt or something. But I didn't have time to regain my posture when she attacked. We were both on the ground now and I saw Lissa and the others run. As long as she's safe, I'll die willingly and hopefully this time, in peace.

Tasha must've noticed this because she had me pinned down on the floor. I grunted and I brought up my right leg over her waist. She was caught off guard for a moment and looked down. I took this opportunity to punch her straight in the jaw. I heard a sickening crack and she tumbled off of me. I got up and grabbed her shoulders and threw her against the brick wall. The impact was hard enough to knock down half of the wall. I lifted my hand for my stake and before I knew it, Tasha grabbed my throat and threw me to where the wall was. The rest of the wall tumbling down and I saw that we were right at the edge of a cliff. Shit. We must've been high or something because I could barely see the bottom of it.

Once again, I got distracted. Tasha grabbed my ankle and pulled me back. I held on to the bricks and I didn't budge. She pulled harder and I felt like my leg was going to be pulled off. So I let go. She must've had a good grip on me because I crashed into her. She must really be stupid. We both collided on the ground and I heard footsteps run toward us.

'_They won't make it in time.'_ I thought. I had trouble getting up and so did she. Once I fully stood up I lunged for her and she didn't see it coming. I slammed into her again and I clawed her. I slashed her throat and dark blood started to seep out.

"Bitch!" She screamed at me. I noticed that her back hit the bricks hard because once again we were at the edge of the room, or the edge of the cliff. Who makes an underground building near the edge of a cliff?

"Rose!" Alberta yelled from behind me. I heard the other footsteps head to me. I held her down and I realized I don't have my stake with me, again. Shit.

I looked up and Tasha noticed this. She grabbed my shoulders and threw me over her. I gasped as I was at the very, very edge. My legs were dangling over the edge and I held on to the bricks that were near. I saw that the other guardians tried to reach me but Tasha fought them off. I tried to lift myself up but the ground gave way and I knew I was going to die. I gasped as I no longer saw the others. But before I could fall to my death, a hand caught mine. I looked up to see that it was Dimitri. His hand was holding my wrist tightly and I grasped his hand. I tried to bring my other one up but failed. I looked up at him.

"Don't you dare let go," Dimitri growled, "Hang on!"

"Why don't you just let go?" Tasha said smugly. I couldn't see her but I could tell that she was having a good time watching this, "Rose, why do you think Dimitri is saving you?"

I blocked her out, desperate not to hear what she has to say.

"Tasha! Stop!" I heard Alberta yell.

"He's taking pity on you." Tasha spat. No matter how hard I pretended not to listen to her, my mind was started to play tricks on my mind as well.

"Think about it Rose. After you saved him from being a Strigoi forever, you told him that you would love him forever. And how did he repay you? By pushing you away saying that he didn't love you anymore."

"Tasha! Shut your mouth! You don't know what you're saying!" Dimitri shouted.

"Oh yes I do!" and then she kept continuing and continuing. I prayed to someone, telling them to end this misery and suffering. I heard every single word she said and she finally got to the main point.

"Remember that day? Dimitri knew you were in trouble. What did he do?"

'_Nothing,'_ my mind spat. It now had a mind of its own.

"What did he do in your final moments?" I wanted to cry so badly right now. I felt my heart crush into a million pieces all over again.

'_He left you!'_ My mind screamed. The feelings I held up for so long were released. It all came back to me and before I knew it, tears were running down my face and I felt a familiar pain in my stomach.

"Roza! Don't listen to her! She's only doing it to make you turn against me!" Dimitri yelled at me. I looked up at him and all the hatred I had for him returned. I growled and he flinched. I then looked at his hand holding mine. He couldn't hold on for much longer and even I knew it. He was exhausted and Tasha was now talking whenever she wanted to. That meant she must've taken out everybody.

"My job is done," Tasha exclaimed. I knew there was a double meaning to that. I heard a gust of wind and I think she left. Bitch.

"Roza, you know how you said you wanted peace right?" I looked up at him in shock.

"Are you telling me to die again?" I ask him, heartbroken enough from everything coming back to me.

"No! Roza! I didn't mean it like that!" he yelled.

"Face it Dimitri. You want me to die again so that I can live in peace!" I shout at him. "If it's peace you're talking about, then you'll get it." I let go of my hold. He looked at me, terrified.

"No! Hold on! Damn it Rose! Don't let go!" He squeezed my hand tighter. "I can't live without you! Don't do this!" He can't hold on to me with both hands, because if he does, then we'd both go falling to our deaths.

"Rose!" Alberta crawled her way to the edge, "Listen to Dimitri!" She yelled. I can easily see the tears in her eyes.

I look at our hands and I see that I'm slowly slipping through his grasp.

"Roza…please…" He cries.

"Give me a reason to live," I whisper sadly to him.

"You have me. You have everyone. Just please, grab my hand." He sobs. I suddenly think about everything once again. I had once loved him. We were in love. We were made for each other.

No. I _do_ love him. We _are _in love. Tears blur my vision again. But then I think of Adrian. After everything Dimitri has done to me, Adrian protected me from him for a while.

Not only do I love Dimitri, I love Adrian. I can't live if one dies.

As I think of these things, I feel warmness in my heart. If I die now, I can finally rest in peace. But if I do, I wonder what that'll do to everyone.

'_Rose, you promised me you would come back!'_ I heard Lissa through the bond. I then used whatever strength I have and grasp Dimitri's hand once again. He looked relieved and Alberta reaches out with one hand. I try to reach out to her with my other hand but only our fingers touch. She leaned down a little and our hands connected. As they pull me up I remember what everyone had told me.

_"Why are you following me?" I asked, not bothering to look at him.._

_"I have come to take you home," He responded._

_"I have no home," I forced out._

_"Then come with me," He pleaded._

All that pain I caused…

"_We'll make a cover-up story,"_

"_It's not easy, Adrian. He's there. I can't stand being another minute there with him. It hurts too much."_

"_Then do it for me,"_

Adrian…

Dimitri pulled me into his arms.

"Roza…" he sounded so worried and scared. I looked up weakly at him and smile. For the first time since I came back, I felt safe.

"Rose, your side," Alberta gasped. I already know what's happening. Dimitri put his hand over my wound.

"You're hurt again." He choked, "Why does it keep coming back?"

"It doesn't matter," I reassured him. I lifted my arm up and it felt like a ton. Fighting through my weakness I touched his cheek.

"You're back," He smiled, "The real you."

I smiled a little, "Yes." I rested my head on his chest.

I was about to fall asleep when I felt something wet on my cheek. I opened my eyes to see him crying.

"Roza…I'm sorry,"

"For what?"

"If I only came in time, you wouldn't be like this!" He cried.

"But you did," He looked down at me, "You came for me. And that's good enough," I say weakly.

"I have always cared Roza. I never have stopped caring." He started to cry again.

"Roza…" His arms that were holding me underneath lifted me up a little bringing me closer to him. He leaned down and our lips met. I didn't realize that I was actually crying as hard as him until our tears mixed as one, dropping on the ground below.

I wanted to do so much more, but I was so weak. All I could do is have his arms support me.

'_Dimitri…'_ I thought. We kissed hard and passionately while his arms wrapped around me, comforting me protectively.

The need to hate and kill was gone now. My soul is finally complete.

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Okay I meant for the ending to be a little different but my author side got the better of me. Tell me what you think! I'm out!

Just because her soul is finally complete doesn't mean that the story is ending! There's going to be a lot more drama.

**Also I'm going to be doing a sequel for Face Behind the Mask but that won't be until probably Christmas but that's the news for my loyal reviewers from my other story.**

-halloween265 :D


	9. Special Marshmallows

**Note:** I am soo a hundred times sorry! I couldn't update because the week AND weekend were just crazy! I had to help with the bills, upcoming exams, finals, homework, and a basketball schedule. Soo sorry! I'm sorry about this and how it's not very exciting but i had the urge to update. so yeah...If i get any luck i will post this Friday, because that's the last day to turn in all my late work and after that i'm good, except for the finals the week after that.

I am kind of at a writer's block and if you guys could hook me up with some juicy ideas, that would be great! I don't care if it has to do with Dimitri or Adrian, but i need something! If you guys could do that, then that would really be helping me out alot!

Also i'm going back to work on my other story Blossoms in Winter Snow, so i will be going back and forth between the two. Sorry for the delay! D:

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RPOV

_I watched as his hands slowly, sensually made their way to my hips, gripping them and gently digging his nails into my skin, not to harm me, but to simply cause me pleasure. And oh how it worked. _

"_Anything you want is yours," I found myself saying. He looked up at me with his auburn and sepia colored eyes. _

"_I only desire you," He said huskily in her ear, nipping it. I nodded as my face flushed even more than possible. _

"_Then let there be no more words between us." He left a trail of kisses to my chest, then down to my stomach…_

My eyes fluttered open as I awoke from my dream. I let out a deep breath as I rolled to my side to look at the clock. It was early in the morning, which meant sundown for the humans. I got up from the bed and stood by the window.

It was all quiet until I heard knocks coming from my door.

"Rose!" No wonder it would be Adrian.

I make my way to the door and the knocks turn into pounding. I'm so going to kill him. I open my door, ready to scold him when I see him with two big hot cocoa mugs in each hand. But what really catches my eye is the gigantic marshmallow in one of them.

"Don't worry, that one's for you."

"How did you know that I wanted that one?" I took the cup with the marshmallow out of his hands quickly.

He laughed at me, "It was obvious. You were so eyeing that marshmallow." I stuck my tongue out at him and he did the same.

"Happy Birthday by the way," He announced proudly. I smiled at him. He smiled back and reached into his pocket. I was nervous on what he was going to do.

Seconds turned into minutes as he struggled to get whatever he needed out of his pocket. I started laughing while he stood up and gracefully took out the tiny box without any problem.

He looked at me and sat back down on the bed, "Here you go."

I reluctantly took the box out of his hands and carefully opened it. Inside the box was a golden chain bracelet. It was meant to be a charm bracelet where you could put different charms on it but there was nothing on it.

Adrian must've sensed my confusion because he laughed and reached into his pocket again before taking my hand in his. He motioned for me to look away and I scowled at him, but looked away anyway. I felt my hand move back to my lap and I looked at my wrist. But what I saw really took my breath away. It was a small glass rose charm with an "R" written elegantly in the middle. I took it in my fingers and looked at it adoringly.

"Adrian…I…" I couldn't find anything to say.

"You don't have to thank me for it little dhampir." He patted the top of my head and I growled. He laughed.

"How did you even get something like this?" I asked him. He smiled even bigger.

"I thought you knew me better than that little dhampir. I can work miracles." He said with confidence.

I giggled.

"Well, this means a lot to me Adrian. Thank you," I hugged him and didn't let go. He hugged me back and I heard a knock on the door. Crap!

"Hold on a sec!" I shouted. I looked at Adrian and he understood my look. He grabbed the cup of cocoa and sat down on the couch across the bed like nothing happened. I loved how he understood me so well. I let out a deep breath and walked towards the door.

"Roza," Dimitri smiled. I smiled back.

"Happy Birthday," He crushed me in a bone crushing hug and I couldn't breathe.

"Can't….breathe…" I forced out and I felt him release me immediately. He looked at me and kissed me passionately before walking into the room with me. He wrapped an arm around me and he tensed when he saw Adrian sitting on the couch.

"Don't worry. He came by to say happy birthday." I reassured him, hoping he would calm down. Ever since I got back, he and Adrian never got along unless I told them to. Dimitri kept a close eye on me and he wouldn't let me see Adrian.

One time Adrian tried to see me but Dimitri wouldn't let him talk to me for more than a minute before leaving. I was a little pissed at Dimitri because I missed Adrian.

They stared at each other and I had to break the tension.

"So do you guys have any plans later on?" I asked them.

They both shook their heads and went back to giving each other death glares.

"Adrian, it was really nice seeing you. How about I'll see you tonight?" I tried to smile at him. He smirked a little but remained cautious.

"Lissa's-," I cut him off.

"Planning something, I know." I groaned. She could never keep a secret without going all bonkers on me.

"Well, I'll see you tonight little dhampir." He walked up to me and reached for my hand and kissed it. Crap! I noticed that Dimitri saw the bracelet on my wrist and I swore I saw jealousy. Adrian did that on purpose! Ugh!

"Bye Adrian," I said as he walked out the door. I didn't turn to Dimitri because I knew what he was going to say.

"Is that all you guys really did?" He asked out of the blue.

"Yes, Comrade, we just talked and that was it." He sighed and lifted my hand with the bracelet on it and inspected it.

"Did he give this to you?" He asked with some trouble.

"Yes. It's really nice." I took my hand back and I looked at it closely this time, adoring it once again.

"Roza, I don't want you going near him."

"Dimitri…" I sighed, "Nothing you can do will stop me from seeing him. He's part of my life too you know. He's my friend. Why can't you see that?"

His arms tightened around me, "It's obvious he wants more than that."

I so wanted to get off this subject. So I asked him, "I know you came here for something. Now what was it?" I smiled as he placed a sharp kiss on my neck.

"Well, before the trouble started, I merely wanted to tell you that you don't have to go to classes today."

"That's it?"

"And that everybody told me to keep you distracted for the day. I would for the entire day but I have a shift later on." He said.

"I'm pretty sure Adrian could watch over me on your shift. Unless I beat the cheese out of him demanding why I have to be kept distracted."

"I'm not sure about the Adrian thing, Roza." He muttered.

"Trust me on this, okay Comrade?" I knew he hated it when I called him that, but after everything that happened, he's okay with it.

"But I do like the idea of you beating the 'cheese' out of him." He chuckled and it sent a shiver down my spine. But then he turned serious, "I just don't want you to go into his footsteps."

"You can't keep me from seeing him, no matter how hard you try." I said with sincerity.


	10. Atomic

**Note:** Okay now that it's Friday I can finally work on my chapters and get caught up. But next week is finals and I hope I do good. So the next week after that is Christmas Break and I will definitely be updating. So for you AdrianxRose fans I hope this satisfies you. I tried not to get into the whole flirting thing and stuff but I kept it decent. I'll try to update soon.

* * *

RPOV

It was my birthday and already there's so much drama. I don't know why Dimitri is acting so childish! We're not even that much of a couple! I only told him that we'd be good friends and all but he's acting like he owns me again. When he was placing kisses on my neck, my body couldn't help but respond to those. Damn it.

"I need to go find Adrian," I started to pull away, but Dimitri held on tighter.

"Rose, don't…" He pleaded softly, "He has no control. Who knows what he could do to you if I'm not there for even a second."

I walk up to him and relax, "I trust him, Dimitri. If you wish to stay by me, then you need to start by trusting Adrian." I said to him. He loosened up but only a little.

"Alright, I'll try." He looked away.

"Dimitri…" I warned him. He smirked and looked at me. He took my hand in his and he kissed my knuckles before letting go and walking off.

As soon as he was out of sight, I walked slowly to Adrian's dorm. I walked slowly because I was wondering what he would do if he saw me. Would he yell at me and tell me to go back and hook up with Dimitri? That very thought hurt me bad. Knowing him, he can't resist being himself around me.

I got to his door and lifted up my hand to knock. But before my hand made contact, the door opened and I saw Adrian looking out the door. His eyes were sort of sad and his hair was messier than usual. Just the sight of this made my heart sink. He doesn't deserve this. He deserves better.

"Hey, little dhampir," He said with a hint of sadness. I reached up to him and rested my hand on his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Adrian. I can't control his actions." I apologized. He leaned against my hand and let out a deep breath.

"I know. He's just over reacting right now." He growled. I smiled.

"I thought that you were the tough Adrian Ivashkov. No one can bring you down on your feet." I teased. He let out a chuckle.

"You can, little dhampir." He smiled. I looked behind him and watched the snow fall outside. I then instantly knew what I had planned for us.

"Dress up in warm clothes. I know what we're going to do today." I said as I let go of his hand and quickly ran to my room. I put on a red jacket with some pants and my 'fuzzy boots' and my mittens. I left the room and I walked to the entrance of the building. There I saw Adrian wearing almost the same things I was, only guy-ish.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Where are we going?" He asked. I grabbed his hand and ran outside with him behind me. It was snowing a little harder than it was before I saw it.

We stood outside on the field together in a euphoria that only seemed to come with the relaxation of the body and mind. We watched as the small, white flakes took possession of the sky and gently, without a sound, gather on the ground to make a blanket of white cotton. Small flakes, big flakes, wide flakes, it did not matter. Because the only thing that mattered was that I was here with Adrian. From the corner of my eye I saw him looking at the same thing I was. I smiled and bent down, pretending that I was going to tie my shoe.

He looked down at me and I said, "I forgot to tie my shoe all the way."

He looked at me for a sec and then looked back at the clouds while I quietly gathered some snow in my hands. When I 'finished', I stood back up with my snowball behind me and I was ready to throw it. But I was caught off guard when something cold hit the side of my head. I turned to see that it was Adrian who threw the snowball at me.

"Don't think I don't know the great Rosemarie Hathaway. I knew you were planning something." He bent over trying to contain his laughter. I smirked and I took this perfect opportunity to strike. I threw my snowball at him and it hit him straight in the forehead.

"Didn't see that one coming did ya?" I said in triumph. He sent me a look.

"Oh it's on, little dhampir." He said and with that we started a snowball fight. He got me a few times but I got him more. Every time I hit him, he always said that he was giving me a chance. Pfft. As if.

"Come on, Adrian. I know you can do better than that!" I shouted to him playfully, quickly hiding behind an oak tree to avoid an upcoming snowball.

"I'm just going easy on you, little dhampir." He shouted back joyfully. I rolled my eyes.

"Then show me your full potential!" I challenged him. I stayed quiet behind the tree, waiting for any noise and listening to his footsteps. I heard them coming closer to where I was and I thought.

'Is he that obvious? He makes it so easy!' I jumped out from my spot and prepared a snowball. But nobody was in sight. I stayed still for any noise and I felt arms wrap around my waist, lifting me up.

"Ah! Let me down Adrian!" I screamed with laughter as I tried to escape his arms. He didn't listen, however, and twirled both of us in circles.

"I'm not letting you down until you say I'm the best snowball fighter yet."

"Stop! Ok, okay! Now let me down!" I giggled in between words but he still didn't let me down.

"You have to say it out loud and make it good!" He laughed. I sighed in defeat, both of us still spinning. It was getting me dizzy.

"Adrian Ivashkov, awesomest and kick-ass friend of Rose Hathaway, is the best snowball fighter in the academy!" I shouted happily. He gave me a full grin and let me go. Soon enough, two snowballs hit both of us; one on the back of his head and one on my chest. We turned to see that Lissa and Christian were not very far from us.

"Best snowball fighter, eh?" Christian scoffed, "I'll show you the best snowball fighter yet!" He sent another snowball heading towards Adrian. Adrian ducked and grabbed my body for a shield.

"Hey!" I pouted. As soon as the words left my mouth, multiple snowballs hit me. I looked at Lissa who was whistling innocently along with Christian.

"Adrian you're on my team!" I said and ran for it, leaving him vulnerable against the duo.

"Hey! Teammate! You're supposed to help me!" He managed to get out as he was hit many times.

I turned around and gave him thumbs up, "You're doing a good job! Hold them off for a few minutes!" I said as I bent down and made some snowballs.

"Oh, you're on Ozera." I heard Adrian say. I stepped out of my hiding place and launched a few at Lissa who dropped her snowballs.

"Not fair!" She laughed as Adrian sent a giant snowball at her. I charged at Christian and he ran to a nearby tree.

"You can't hide behind there forever, Sparky!" I yelled. I tiptoed closer to the tree and I hit the bark, causing the snow on a few branches to drop.

"Damn it!" was the next thing I heard.

"Victory!" I shouted. He peeped out from behind the tree and did the same as me, but causing some more snow to fall on him more than me.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Don't mess with Hathaway, Fire Boy!" I was beat and wet from the snow that had somehow managed to get inside my clothing. Same went for Christian, Adrian, and Lissa.

"Happy Birthday, Rose." Lissa said, wiping snow off her sleeves.

I looked at Christian, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

He grinned and shook his head like a dog, getting the remaining snow off his hair. Water droplets hit my face, "Gross, Sparky! You're like a dog!"

He did it again but didn't expect for Adrian to appear behind him with a humongous snowball. I tried not to look at him but couldn't stop the laughter coming out of my mouth.

Christian eyed me suspiciously, "What are you laughing for?"

"You need to say happy birthday, Christian," Lissa was having a hard time containing her giggles.

"Yeah," I added in.

He scoffed. Just then Adrian dropped the snowball on his head. I laughed as I watched Christian's face. It was priceless.

"Let's get inside, before the weather gets worse."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

DPOV

I stood inside the building as I watched them have their snowball fight. It seemed like all fun and games until I saw that Adrian picked Rose up and started to twirl them. I think he told her to say something because I could really hear her yell, "Adrian Ivashkov, awesomest and kick-ass friend of Rose Hathaway, is the best snowball fighter in the academy!"

Best snowball fighter, huh? I bet I could've easily taken him on, till I saw Christian challenge him. If I was here with another guardian or somebody, I would bet my money on Christian. No way in hell I'll go for Ivashkov.

What does she see in him? Doesn't she see that he'll do anything to get in her pants? I swear, she and Ivashkov will certainly be the end of me.

I was planning on giving her something great for her birthday, but since I saw that bracelet he gave to her, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. I saw how she adored it and looked at it and appreciated it. He could buy her all the stuff she wants, but he can never buy her love. I just hope she sees him the way I do. I fiddled with the object in my pocket and after I saw her bracelet I knew I had to get her something just as worthy.

"Let's get inside, before the weather gets worse." I heard Rose say. I saw that they were all heading towards the building but I froze when Adrian murmured something to the others. He and Rose stayed behind and I couldn't help but watch and try to decipher what they were saying.

"Rose, I am…sorry…this morning." Was all I could manage.

"It's okay…understand."

"Will you…me?" She smiled at him and I hope he didn't ask her what I thought he said.

She reached out for his hand and gently squeezed it, "Forgiven." God, he had me for a moment there. They walked back inside and I met them down at the lobby. When I saw Roza I couldn't help but smile at her. She did the same.

"I'll see you later on Adrian?" She asked him. He nodded at her and ignored me as he walked by.

I made my way to her and hugged her tightly. We walked through the hallways together in silence and I gently grasped her hand. She looked at me and I took the object out of my pocket and with fast speed, she had another charm on her bracelet. She looked down on it and it was a heart locket with a key attached to its' side. It was to show that my heart is with her and that she has the key to it. The heart was golden and a small thorn rose in the middle and the key was gold as well.

I saw the look on her face and couldn't help but chuckle, "I just want you to have a piece of me wherever you go." She smiled at me.

"Thank you." Just then I saw Adrian head towards us. Rose brightened up a little bit the moment she saw him. I tensed up after I saw that.

"Hey, Adrian," Rose said.

He smiled at her, "Good day to you, little dhampir." His smile faded a little it when he looked at me but it was still there, "Dimitri." That was a little strange but I knew I had to reply to him nicely. Must be Rose's doing.

"Adrian." I replied.

"Do you mind if I steal Rose for the rest of the day?" He grinned at her.

Instead of answering I nodded and reluctantly let go of Rose's hands while he reached for the hand with the bracelet.

When Rose wasn't in hearing range I quickly whispered to Adrian, "Watch yourself Ivashkov." I growled. He smirked at me and they walked away.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

RPOV

I clearly heard what Dimitri said to Adrian and I couldn't help but feel slightly angry because of how he was treating Adrian. I told Adrian that he should be more nicer to those close to me in order for him to be my greatest friend of all time, and he agreed to do it. I need to talk to Dimitri later on.

I walked away with Adrian's hand holding mine, but when he turned the corner I gently pulled my hand away from his.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" I asked him.

He looked at me seriously. But then I realized that he was staring at the charm Dimitri added to my bracelet.

"Dimitri gave it to me for my birthday." I said for him.

"Rose…" He closed his eyes. When will this feud between them ever going to end?

I didn't say anything and I stayed still. He opened his eyes and looked me in the eyes.

"Kiss me, Rose…" He whispered softly. I was going to tell him no but then I was filled with this urge to kiss him. At first I thought it was because of his compulsion, but then I realized that it was coming from something inside me.

I took in a breath and tilted my head towards him and he leaned down. Our lips were only a breath away and I could easily taste his lips. I stayed where I was and he closed the rest of the distance.

Our lips met and I tried to pull away, but he wrapped his left arm around my waist and cupped my face with the other. I gave up after a while and I finally began to return it. My right hand rested on his left arm and I gently squeezed it.

Is it really his compulsion or is it something different?


	11. Torn

_"Kiss me, Rose…" He whispered softly. I was going to tell him no but then I was filled with this urge to kiss him. At first I thought it was because of his compulsion, but then I realized that it was coming from something inside me._

_I took in a breath and tilted my head towards him and he leaned down. Our lips were only a breath away and I could easily taste his lips. I stayed where I was and he closed the rest of the distance._

_Our lips met and I tried to pull away, but he wrapped his left arm around my waist and cupped my face with the other. I gave up after a while and I finally began to return it. My right hand rested on his left arm and I gently squeezed it._

_Is it really his compulsion or is it something different?_

RPOV

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but when we finally broke apart I felt something more at Adrian. More than I was supposed to.

Adrian looked at me with a big smile on his face, but it soon turned into a frown.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," He started to back away. Shit, he thought he used compulsion on me. No!

"Adrian-," I started to reach for him. I needed to tell him it wasn't his compulsion, and that it was all my doing. He just encouraged me!

"I never should've done that Rose. _We_ never should've done that." He sounded so broken that it created a hole in my heart. He wasn't supposed to feel like this. He was at least ten feet away from me when I stopped him. I ran in front of him and put my hands on his chest.

I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath, "No, Adrian. It wasn't you. You didn't use compulsion on me. It was all me. I didn't realize I wanted that until you encouraged me."

I felt him remove my hands from my chest.

"No, it wasn't you." He whispered in my ear before kissing me on the forehead and left. I didn't realize I had tears in my eyes until I touched my cheek. I needed to find him and convince him.

I tried my best to find out where he must've gone. I tried his room but he wasn't there. I checked with Lissa and he wasn't practicing with her. I asked everybody if they've seen him. But no luck.

Then it finally came to me. He would be at the bar. I was about to go after him but my head told me that he needed time to himself. That didn't win. I called Lissa and told her that I needed to find Adrian. She asked why and I told her that Adrian left the campus without a guardian and that I needed to talk to him. She eventually agreed and she got permission from Kirova at the last minute to see if we could go shopping. I didn't tell Dimitri but I hope he doesn't find out.

We stop at the first bar that comes into sight. Before the car can come to a complete stop I bolt for the door.

"Rose!" Lissa yells. I ignore her and keep running. But I'm stopped by the man at the door.

"I'm sorry but I need to see your I.D." He said. I scowl at him but I wait for Lissa.

"You will let us in and forget that this ever happened." She said before she was at my side. I saw him nod and move out of the way. I mouth a thank you to Lissa and head straight inside.

'My First Kiss' by 3OH!3 is playing and I can't see a damn thing with the strobe lights going on and off.

I searched around the room frantically for Adrian. He was an idiot thinking he could come here without any guardians! There could be Strigoi here and he wouldn't notice because he's drunk!

"Adrian!" I try to yell but the music blocks out my shouts. I shout his name many times but nothing helps. I see a person at the bar but what really catches my eye is that a big bulky person is walking the same direction as me. I took immediate action.

"_Lissa! Get to the guardians! There are Strigoi here!"_ I shout to her through the bond.

"_Rose! Be careful!"_ She pleaded.

I didn't reply to her because my mind was too focused on saving Adrian. I don't understand why Strigoi are here during the day. Well, then again it's cloudy and the sun isn't peaking out.

"Adrian!" I scream and this time he hears me. He turns his head and I see that he's not drunk. Thank god. I rush to him and the Strigoi sees me. He heads for Adrian too. I pick up my speed, hoping to get there in time. I'm just a foot away from him and the Strigoi is less than a foot away.

Adrian sees the Strigoi and tries to move out of the way. I reach him in time just and I wrap my arms around him, protecting him. The Strigoi slashes my back and I gasp in pain.

"Rose!" I hear Adrian screaming my name. My grip loosens a bit and I lose my footing but Adrian wraps his arm around me before I could fall.

"Why did you do that?" He yelled at me. I ignore the pain and look up at him. I smile sadly at him.

"It's my job." I say reassuringly. From the corner of my eye I can see that the Strigoi had disappeared. I weakly hugged him tighter.

"_At least he's okay."_ I thought and I closed my eyes.

When I woke up I saw that we had arrived back at the academy. My back didn't hurt and I assumed that Lissa must've healed me. I have to thank her for that. The car came to a stop and saw that many guardians stood outside. I just hope Dimitri wasn't there. He was going to be beyond angry.

The guardians were ready to take me to the infirmary but Adrian stopped them. He picked me up and led me to my room. But before we can even go into the building I hear someone coming near us. Adrian kept walking but he was turned abruptly and I saw Dimitri. Shit.

"What happened to her?" Dimitri growled dangerously. Even I got scared of him at the moment.

"I went off campus without guardians and Rose went after me. She got hurt protecting me from a Strigoi." Adrian said just as tough. Dimitri balled his fists.

"Why did you leave the academy in the first place?"

Adrian didn't respond at first. "Why I left in the first place is my business, Belikov." I shut my eyes and prayed that this wouldn't end badly.

"Adrian, can you let me down?" I ask quietly. From all that happened in less than an hour, my voice seemed a little dry. He nodded uneasily and I made the mistake of Dimitri seeing my back.

"What the hell is this?" Dimitri put his hands on my shoulders with me still facing Adrian. I knew there was blood from the wound and I think it was all over my back. This wasn't going to end well.

"What do you think it is?" Adrian said like it was nothing. Dimitri walked right up to him.

"I'm going to end you someday, Ivashkov."

Just then I saw Alberta head towards us. Thank god.

"Hey," She gently put her hand in between Adrian and Dimitri and separated them, "Easy guys. Guardian Belikov, you know better than to threaten a Royal Moroi." There was a moment of silence. "Now, Lord Ivashkov, would you care to explain why you left campus without any guardians?" She looked at him and so did Dimitri.

Adrian hesitated for a moment, "I left because I compelled Rose into kissing me. I was too angry thinking about what I did. I didn't realize that I didn't have any guardians until Rose came after me."

Dimitri charged at Adrian. Alberta held him back before he could hurt Adrian.

"Don't you _ever_ touch her again!" Dimitri yelled.

"Guardian Belikov! Calm down!" Alberta struggled against him. He was too tall and too strong for her to hold back. I ran up to Adrian quickly.

"It wasn't your doing. I know you don't believe me, but we'll talk about it later." I said to him as calmly as I could without crying.

Adrian nodded his head sadly and turned around, leaving. I walked him walk away from me.

"Guardian Belikov, I will give you a day or two to straighten out your mood. I will have a replacement to do your shift until you sort things out properly. I won't report this but if you go any further than you tried to today, I will have no choice but to report. Understood?" She said seriously. Dimitri was still looking at where he last saw Adrian and nodded. She let go of his arm and he walked up to me.

"Roza, why didn't you tell me you left?" There was pain in his voice.

"I left because I knew that you were going to stop me. I needed to talk to him." Tears were falling down but I wasn't crying.

He hugged me tightly.

"If you just needed to talk to him, then I would've. But the fact that he kissed you just…" He trailed off. I looked up at him.

"I'm sorry. But he didn't use compulsion. He thought he did. But…"

"You love him, don't you?" He asked me sadly.

How could I answer that? I loved both of them but, who do I love more?


	12. Two Sides of a Coin

**Note:** Okay I know that nothing has happened yet, but the next will be good I promise. So far, it's tied between Adrian and Dimitri. I love both but I just can't choose. I will have the next update by Friday and then IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK. I'm having a hard time with finals. I just had three today but those wer like the easy classes. I'm so excited and scard. Anyways, the next chapter.

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RPOV

I didn't know the answer to his question. At first I thought he was messing with how I felt right now, but the look in his eyes told me that he was being serious.

"Dimitri…I love you. You do realize that," I gulped, "But I also love Adrian. You two are too important to me. Just please," I whispered sadly to him, "Let me think about this."

"I see. I'll let you think about it Roza. Just don't have me wait too long. I don't think I can endure much more if you won't let me be by your side forever." He kissed my lips gently before turning around and leaving me by myself in the hallway.

I went back to my room and lay down on the bed. Normally, I wouldn't find this as a big deal. Back then I would've immediately chosen Dimitri. But that was the past. Now I had to think about the present and how it could affect my future. The chances of me becoming Lissa's guardian were narrow but I hoped that I would be assigned to Christian if I don't.

I sighed angrily and so I walked to the kitchen to find something to eat.

It's been a few hours and I still have no answer. Adrian hasn't called me when I asked him to before he left. I tried calling him, but he wouldn't answer. Same with Dimitri, he won't talk to me but he knows that I need my space.

At the end of the day both of them expect me to have my answer. If I butt out and say "I don't know," then all hell would break loose and both would then try to fight for my affections. But they can't do that, not when Tasha is out there going all psycho.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

I slowly opened the door but no one was there. I opened it all the way and saw a note taped to the door. I grabbed the note and closed the door.

I read it as I headed back to my bed.

_Hey there Little Dhampir,_

_The cradle robber told me that you needed some time alone for your answer. I will be waiting to hear. _

_No matter-_ that line was crossed out and I couldn't make it out.

_I wish you all the best-_ that was also crossed out.

_I love you with all my heart. _

_Adrian_

This made my choices a lot harder. I needed to talk to him and tell him no matter what, he'll always be my awesome lazy ass friend. And I doubt that anyone could replace him. I wouldn't let them even if I wanted to.

I walked out of my room and down the stairs to the lobby. Only then I realized that Dimitri was guarding the entrance from the outside. He turned around to check inside when he saw me. I wondered why and what he's doing here. I saw the answers in his eyes. He knew Adrian was here and that he was probably with me. He sent me an apologetic look and continued his shift. I nodded my head in response and walked back to my room in frustration.

Normally I would be irritated if Dimitri tried to keep me from Adrian, but as much as I hate it, he was right. This was my time to think and I couldn't have any distractions about them trying to change my mind.

I fell asleep and I popped into one of my dreams with Adrian. If Dimitri found out about this he wouldn't be happy but this was sort of urgent. Sort of.

"_Hey there little dhampir," He smiled and held out both of his arms. _

_I was about to hug him until I felt a gentle breeze against my skin. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a scarlet red bikini with a see through skirt wrapped around my waist. I had red sandals on with a white sun hat on my head. _

"_What is this?" I asked, pointing to me, "What do you see?"_

"_I see a goddess before me." He grinned, "It was that or something else that would've showed a little bit more." _

_I blushed a little bit but quickly shook it away, "This is fine I guess." I grabbed his hand and squeezed it before letting go. But he didn't. _

"_Come on." He said walking away with my hand still in his. _

"_Where are we going?" _

"_You'll see." Next thing I knew the scene changed. It changed from a field of grass to a lovely garden. Oak trees spread out on the field, lilacs and lilies sprouted, and in the middle of it all, there was a stone white bench sitting. _

_I felt a tug on my arm and saw Adrian smiling down at me. I smiled back and with my arm, I pushed him into the pond that appeared behind him. _

_I burst out in laughter and he glared at me for a second before laughing with me. He smiled evilly and I took a step back. But it wasn't enough to keep him from splashing water on me. _

"_Okay! Adrian! Stop!" I giggled as I tried to step away from the pond but he always found a way to make the water go all the way over here. Then again, this was a dream. _

_He stopped and climbed out of the pond. His hair was dripping wet and he was shirtless. Great. _

"_See something you like?" He posed and I tried not to laugh._

_I gave in eventually and I was in a fit of giggles. After a few moments I calmed down. "Hey! That's my line!" _

_He smirked at me, "You don't own it." _

"_I say it enough for me to own it." I crossed my arms and looked at him. We talked to each other for a while and then it started to get serious after he asked a question. _

"_So what happens now?" He sat down on the grass and I did the same. _

"_I still need time. I feel pressured into doing this. Making this decision is by far out the hardest thing I've ever had to do."_

"_Alright. Then I'll just simply wait." He put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him. _

"_Give me a few more days or maybe a week. I have other tings to do other than make this choice. Tasha is still out there. She could attack us at any moment. You guys will be too busy thinking about me and that's not safe." I started to feel like something was pulling me. _

"_You're waking up. I'll see you at breakfast." He kissed my forehead and I woke up. _

I sat up on the couch, not realizing I passed out there. I walked to the bathroom and saw my reflection. My hair was a rat's nest and my clothes were crumpled. I can't believe I sleep like that.

After a good shower I quickly got dressed and happily walked to the cafeteria. I was in a good mood and I didn't know why.

Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Mia, and Adrian were already sitting at the table eating themselves out. The food looked good but I didn't focus on theirs. There was only one thing in sight and that was the pile of donuts on my plate.

* * *

Next chapter will be more of Dimitri and Rose. So you RosexDimitri fans just hang on!

-halloween265


	13. Fights

**Note:** I'm sorry for not updating. It's just that my laptop needs a new battery and I couldn't access it so I'm using the family computer. :/ Anyways, I had a basketball tournament that started Thursday and ended today. I just couldn't update. I'm terribly sorry. Now that it's Christmas Break I should be able to update a little earlier than expected.

The song for this chapter is Slept So Long by Jay Gordon.

Also, I decided to stick to a regular point of view. I like it better because first person was just a little too confusing for me. Oh and I have a poll on my profile for who shall Rose end up with. Check that out.

* * *

Finally, finally something to help her achieve her goals. The Strigoi lay dead next to her feet. He was no longer needed, for he was useless now. The words he said to her earlier continued to process in her head while she smiled deviously to herself. Now she needed to find the person that brought Rose back. If she found him, then she can destroy Rose back into whatever she was made from.

The Strigoi was sent out hours before to find out information on a person who mastered resurrection, and wasn't to return unless they beheld information. _He is in the mountains not too far from the academy. They say he was the one who resurrected Rose._ The final pieces to her puzzle. A useful human who could help her not only destroy Lissa, but also control Dimitri.

She continued to follow the scent of the human that was given to her from a piece of clothing. And in no time, she was able to find out where the man resided.

He lay still, on the rocky floor near the back of the cave. Castor. Most people have considered him as one of the greatest people of the century. He was an expert in many elements and other abilities no others knew about. Castor did not hear the steps she took, for they were as silent as hummingbird's wings. He would not feel her presence in the caves. Her tulip ankle boots made no sound on the hard cold floor.

Leaning over the man, she decided to stay still until he was awake. She took a good look at the man. He had black hair with tints of grey meaning he was aging and by his scent, he was human, definitely human. He had no wrinkles on his face and he seemed relaxed.

But it wasn't until he finally opened his eyes that she was ready to attack.

"Who the hell are you?" He whispered.

"I don't think that matters now huh?" She smiled smugly.

She grabbed Castor up by the shirt and lifted him, bringing his neck to her hungry lips. He gasped only for a moment before moaning slightly. Never before had he felt something be so good, even better than death, which he wasn't worried about. Just as he felt himself going into blackness, Tasha removed her lips from his neck and threw him back on the ground, not too hard though.

"I have something for you to do, and you will not fail." She said sternly. Castor stood up shakily from the blood loss but still managed.

"What do you need?" He put his hand over his neck to stop the bleeding.

"I'm searching for a dhampir that goes by the name Rosemarie Hathaway. I presume you know her?" She started to circle him.

"Yes. She escaped from here not long after she was resurrected." He said just as she threw him against the wall, hard.

"Why did you bring her back?" She growled.

He looked up at her, "It was a request."

"A request from whom?"

"Abe Mazur."

She didn't say anything for the next few minutes except stare at the old guy like he was crazy. Why would Abe Mazur, the greatest mob boss in the world, help a dhampir like Rose?

"Mazur was her father. When he heard of her death he came to me the first thing a few months after."

"What did he give to you in order for you to resurrect her?"

"Nothing I needed, but he paid a great amount of money for it."

"What did you do to bring her back? Spells, books, elements or something?"

He shook his head, "No, all that was needed bones and soil and a piece of her DNA."

"Then can you do a favor for me?"

"Why should I do something for you?"

"I am pretty sure you are familiar with the word _immortality_."

"I do not believe in such a thing."

Tasha laughed humorlessly, "Ha! You do all this crap and you don't believe in immortality?"

"I believe it is a waste of soul."

"Then you will keep your soul if you do something for me."

"What do you need?"

"I need another resurrection for another person."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Okay so now what? I know you're definitely planning something, Lissa." Rose eyed her suspiciously as they sat down at the table in the cafeteria.

"I don't know. Now that Christian proposed, I think I'll start planning right now." Lissa said, admiring her ring.

"Here, I got the perfect wedding gift for you." Rose said sarcastically as she reached into a bag and pulled out a book.

"Moroi weddings for dummies," Lissa tilted her head to the side for a better look, "They have everything for those books don't they?"

"I suppose," Rose said nonchalantly as she started to read the first page.

"This is so embarrassing! Put the book away!" Lissa whisper yelled to Rose. But she pretended not to hear Lissa. She already knew they were attracting a crowd with the way Rose was holding the book.

"Rose, I swear on my life, put the book down." Lissa growled at her. Rose sighed loudly and put the book down.

"Alright-,"

"Guardian Hathaway!" A voice shouted.

Rose stood up from her seat and searched for the person who shouted her name. As if on cue a guardian ran full speed into the cafeteria.

"There's been a report on Strigoi heading near the academy. We need all the guardians to help keep them out." He said breathlessly.

_Strigoi are on their way here?_

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I need to sort some stuff out first." Rose replied coolly.

"No! We need you now!" The guardian grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the entrance, "The Moroi will stay inside with some of the guardians."

Rose looked back at Lissa frantically and nodded before following suit.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Alberta's head shifted to where she heard some screams coming from outside the gates. At least a hundred guardians stood along the gates of the academy. Fifty surrounded the building with maybe fifty more guarding inside.

"They're coming!" A guardian close to the gates shouted.

A moment passed and nothing could be heard except for the howling of a wolf not far away. Nothing could be seen except the breaths coming from each of the guardians.

And in the next moment, contact with the Strigoi had started.

Hundreds of Strigoi had made it passed the gates but only half had passed them to get to the building. Guardians stroked whatever Strigoi ran passed them.

Alberta found herself on the ground already, Strigoi just a few feet away from her as they managed to kill a few guardians here and there. She reached for her stake but a foot violently stepped on her wrist, breaking it. She only winced in pain and looked up to see a blonde hair Strigoi smiling evilly down at her. But before he could finish her off, a stake plunged into his chest from behind. He screamed in agony before falling next to Alberta.

"We're back in business Alberta." Rose shouted as she helped her up. She then realized that Alberta's leg was broken and it was bleeding from the thigh down.

"We need to get you to safety."

"No," Alberta said a little breathlessly, "We need to stay and finish the Strigoi off."

"Not a chance." Rose shook her head and walked to an empty area, killing any Strigoi that lunged at them.

Tasha followed Rose and Alberta with her eyes as she just smirked, not paying any attention to the fight going on. Her eyes went bleak, seeing that Stan and Dimitri were heading for her, ready to kill.

"You guys really think you could take me?" Tasha laughed.

"Ready enough for you to die." Stan hissed. He lunged for Tasha but she gracefully spun around, Stan just barely missing her chest by inches. As she regained her posture, and with a swipe of her long fingernails, she managed to slash Stan on the back, leaving four deep marks. He cried out and writhed on the ground. Tasha just looked at him as though he were nothing but an insect and turned to face Dimitri.

"So, Dimitri, I heard that you and Rose have taken your relationship further." She sneered at him.

"My personal life is none of your concern." He shot back.

"Is it now? Well then, that's such a shame." She lunged at him and he easily dodged out of the way. But she wasn't heading for him. As soon as he got back into a defensive stance, he realized that she kept running.

_Crap!_ She was heading straight for Rose and Alberta.

"Rose! Look out!" He shouted. But he never should've done that. She stopped and turned around to see who called her. Big mistake. When she did Tasha ran straight into her, sending them both flying back. Alberta dropped hard to the ground grunting in pain.

"Shit!" Rose cursed under breath. She quickly stood up to come face to face with Tasha, who was smiling at her.

"You won't live to see another day Rosemarie," She said.

"To hell with that!" Rose hissed. She reached for her stake in her side pocket but found nothing there. She looked back at Tasha who had the stake at her feet.

"Looking for this?" She kicked the stake a little bit.

Rose didn't say anything and that was enough to tell Tasha that she wanted to end this right here and there. She ran at full speed towards Rose who barely dodged her at the last second.

"I know how to destroy you! You're nothing more than a pile of dirt and bones!" Tasha screeched as she attacked from behind, slashing Rose in the shoulder.

Rose nearly fell to her knees but barely managed to stay standing. She grasped her shoulder but was surprised to see that no blood was there, only a gaping hole where the wound was. She stared at it in shock and turned her attention back to Tasha.

"At this rate it'll be easier to destroy you. But I'll let him do that for me." She motioned with her hand for someone to step in. Rose looked at who she was motioning to. A figure stepped out of the shadows, at least twenty feet from Rose. She couldn't believe her eyes. How-

"Mason," She whispered. But he did not react to her. Instead he stared at her with blank eyes.

"Mason," Tasha commanded, "Have a little fun with her. When she is weakened, I'll deal with her myself."

* * *

If you guys want to go back to the first point of view I could do that it's just that it won't be the same. :/ Anyways, tell me what you think. Sorry I couldn't add any Dimitri, I just want to get the story done so I can start on the sequel to Face Behind the Mask.

-halloween265


	14. Please Don't

**Note:** Okay here's the next chapter. Haha earlier today I had my friend read it and she started crying at the end and I was like, "It's not that sad is it?" and she was all like, "Yes it is!" But I don't know because it would take a lot for me to cry but she did, but that's only because she's a sucker for tragedy. I am too but I don't cry at them. Anyways, I hope to update before AND after Christmas.

Happy Holidays everybody! Oh and this chapter is dedicated to my friend Damon and Laniesha! It's their birthday today! *shhhh*

I don't own anything.

* * *

RPOV

Why was he standing there? And most importantly, why is he back?

I looked away from him and rested my eyes on Dimitri. He was distracted by a Strigoi who was trying to get to Adrian. Not on my watch. I rushed towards them on the field, killing any Strigoi that dare pass me unharmed.

But the biggest mistake I made was leaving behind my most important 'enemy'.

"Don't think you can get away from me!" An angry voice shouted at me. Just then I felt an arm stop me from running any further. Damn it! I needed to get to the two men who I loved!

I turned around to see who was holding my arm but I wasn't prepared. Mason. I stared at him and tried to slip out of his grasp. But he only held on tighter. I reached down to grab my stake, but I felt nothing.

"Are you looking for this, sweetheart?" Mason held my stake in his hand, spinning it. My heart sunk when he called me sweetheart.

"How-,"

"If you weren't so focused on your 'lovers', this wouldn't have happened. Poor Rose was too stupid enough to get distracted." He said squeezing my arm tighter. "But don't worry. I won't hurt you…yet."

"Tasha said not to kill me. She'll deal with me herself and I'll do the same." I said glaring at him.

"Ah, dear Rose, you heard differently. She said 'weaken' and then she'll deal with you." He threw me hard against the gates of the academy and I started to see three Mason's standing a few feet away from me.

"Rose!" Dimitri and Adrian yelled.

I tried my hardest to focus on Mason but the terror from their voices was very distracting. I stood up and stumbled a little bit before turning my full attention towards him. He had a smug smile on his face. He's not the Mason I know.

I then attempted to hurry and make it to Dimitri where I could easily fight by his side, but only to find Mason ahead of me. He was fast, maybe faster than Dimitri, and that was all that was processing through my mind. I couldn't escape this even if I wanted to.

Then the strike came down on me, the stake slashing across my abdomen creating a long line of blood. I stumbled from the sudden blow as he grabbed my arm, pulling on it hard as he brought me into another hit, this one not as merciless. He drew the stake into my thigh, and all in the same second, brought up his knee in my stomach, launching me nearly four meters. I landed on my side helplessly.

"Did you regret using me after my death Rose?" Mason sneered, "I thought you loved me as I did you. But you…you used me just for fun. I had to die just for you to treat me with some respect as you do now!"

Tears were so ready to fall from my eyes and I tried my hardest to keep them back, "That's not true Mason. I-I just…"

"You just what?" He shouted. That was it. I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. They fell freely as I desperately crawled towards him. It took more than a minute for me to get to him, although I was using all my strength. My body screamed in agony and protest for me to stop but I kept going. I finally reached him, and sat on my knees in front of him.

"I loved you, Mason. But I couldn't return your feelings as strong. I'm sorry. I still love you," I cried, looking at him. He didn't say anything, just staring at me with no emotion. But his eyes said everything. Anger, betrayal, sadness, despair, sorrow, guilt, and love were clearly shown. But they were gone in a flash.

"Mason! Do as I say!" Tasha screamed.

I tried to raise, the slash in my abdomen and stab in my thigh were numb and not pumping as much blood as they did before. Before I could even rise two feet I felt him kick me again. I landed on the ground and he landed another blow to my stomach, another blow, this one to the side of my head. That's when I knew, I wouldn't live to see another day. Time went slow again; I looked up to the sky again and wondered how it must feel like to be among the stars. Just then I heard something drop next to me; my stake. I stared at Mason, void of emotion, as I saw the life in his eyes. My hand shakily grabbed it and slowly brought it back to my side, letting it go unnoticed by the others.

"Mason, I think you've done enough. Excellent job," Tasha put her hand on his shoulder to halt his actions. He nodded his head and stepped back. Tasha kneeled down to my broken figure and smirked, "I hope you understood your place in this world."

I noticed that as she spoke, her voice had gone from the joy she'd been feeling at seeing me beaten, to rage.

I weakly looked up to her, "You need to know your place too." I drove the stake into her chest just before she clawed out at me in the same fashion Mason tried. The look pure terror shown on her face as she started to fall onto me, but I stopped her before she could and whispered into her ear, "You don't belong in this world as much as I do." I pushed the stake further into her chest and she let out a blood curdling scream and then it went silent. I pushed her off of me and I stared at the night sky as the others were fighting off the remaining Strigoi. Then it went black…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_The place was empty; the land was a vast wasteland of nothing. The only thing that seemed to exist was the ground, and it was more of the night sky than the ground. _

"_Anybody there?" I called out but I could only hear the echo of my voice. _

"_There would be if you looked better." A voice said behind me with amusement. I froze with shock. _

_I turned around to see Mason, "M-Mason?" _

"_The one and only," He teased. _

_I hugged him tightly, not letting go and never wanting to let go. "I'm sorry." I sobbed. _

_He looked at me in confusion, "What are you sorry for?" _

"_I-I couldn't stop y-you from being u-used like that. It broke me to see you in that state." He tightened his grip on me. _

"_It's not your fault. Whatever I said to you, all those things I supposedly said, was not me. It was the dark side of me. The bad side of me." _

"_You wouldn't have a bad side if it weren't for me."_

"_Everybody has a bad side, Rose. Nobody has a pure soul." _

"_What do I do now?" I didn't know why I was here, but I would stay just for Mason. I didn't want him to be here alone. _

"_Rose, don't think that. You need to go back. I won't hold you here and have you die because of me." _

"_I already died. My time spent there has expired. I need to move on." I hugged him even tighter if that was even possible. _

"_No." _

"_No?"_

"_You have too much to live for." _

"_What is there to live for? Lissa will be getting Dimitri as her guardian, Adrian will be leaving soon, and everybody will be better off without me."_

"_No they won't. Just please, as my dying wish. Go back, for me." He cupped my tear-stained face in his hands and looked at me._

"_Only for you," He smiled and he started to fade. I reached out for him. _

"_Don't go! Please!" I cried. A tear fell down his cheek and he was in front of me again. He leaned down and kissed me with such passion and care that I was starting to reconsider my decision. _

"_I'll be there, Rose. I promise." And then he was gone. _

"_Mason!" I screamed and fell to my knees, clutching my head, overwhelmed by the feeling that he was gone forever. _

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"She's finally waking up!" A voice shouted. Normally I would've tried to figure out who said that but I was too focused on Mason. He was gone. Forever.


	15. Miracle Comeback and Decisions

**Note:** I am sooo sorry for not updating on this! It's just that I have absolutely no time to work on this and I'm desperately trying to do better in school this semester. I really appreciate that many of you guys liked my story "Unwilling to Live, Willing to Die", but I'm done with that story. I know some of you wanted Rose to come back or have Dimitri die in order to be with Rose, but I'm satisfied with the ending. No one gets happy endings all the time.

P.S: This is coming to an end soon and I really need to know who you guys want Rose to end up with! There's a pole on my profile and I'm closing it on Saturday so I hope that you get the chance to vote! Dimitri's winning so far! Come on Adrian ppl! haha jk. But seriously guys, vote! I don't know how this is going to end! D:

I don't own VA

* * *

It's so dark. I can't see anything. There's just blackness covering my full vision. Lissa…where's Lissa? I feel panic and fear run through me as I try to contact her through the bond. I wait and nothing happens. Nothing. I can't hear her voice, pleading for me to fight this and to open my eyes. It's just silent.

My memory comes back strong, replaying everything that happened today. Oh god. Mason. _No, he wouldn't want you to mope around for him._ The voice that should be Lissa's voice, was repeating over and over in my head.

"Rose? Roza? I love you Roza, come back. Please Roza,"

It is Dimitri's voice, desperately pleading for me to come back. I feel like answering him so bad, but I can't, the darkness is just too much.

Is this what Mason had in mind for me? To come back despite all the pain I would endure later on in life? From here on out he would never feel pain again. He's passed on fully now and he can rest in peace. All that was needed was for me to realize that I would embrace my second chance that was given to me. I felt tears slide down my cheeks and they continued to fall.

"Nurse! I think she's in pain!" Crap. I seriously need to open my eyes now but they won't obey. It's like they're glued shut or stapled shut. As soon as I find the strength to open them I feel something puncture my arm. Damn it! They sedated me…bastards…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_I was in a garden. No, scratch that out. I can't find the words to say it. _

"_Adrian?" I called out and heard nothing except the chirping from the birds. _

"_I see I've finally gotten to you, little dhampir." I heard him say behind me. I turned and ran straight into his arms. And I could easily tell that I took him by surprise because we tumbled to the ground, "Whoa, getting in a little over our heads huh?"_

_I laughed and settled on his chest, "No. It's just that it's felt like forever since we did this."_

"_Well, why did you want to do it now?"_

_I shrugged, "Had no choice. I think I was in the infirmary-,"_

"_You were."_

"_Okay. I was having a hard time opening my eyes and then I thought of Mason," I took a breath, "and I was crying but Dimitri thought I was in pain. So he called the nurses and they sedated me. So here I am." I grumbled at the end and suddenly felt the rumble on his chest. I looked up at him. He was laughing. _

"_So they knocked you out for no reason?" He said in between laughs. _

_I playfully smacked him, "Shut up! You're making it worse than it is. It's embarrassing!" _

"_I'm sorry little dhampir, it's just funny seeing the great Rose Hathaway sedated just because of a misunderstanding." He smirked. _

_I growled at him, "Adrian…" That got him to shut up. Ha! _

"_Adrian I really need to go back to my own mind. I just need to be alone right now." I finally said. _

"_I know. You know we are still waiting for your answer." _

_Crap. I totally forgot about that. _

"_I'll have my answer tomorrow. I swear." I promised. Although I had no idea who to choose. _

"_Alright, but remember, no matter what we'll still be friends." He smiled and then turned serious. _

"_See you in the morning." I said before I woke. _

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

My head hurts even worse now! Ugh I'm so going to kill the nurses and Dimitri if I have to!

"She's regaining consciousness again!" No! I quickly opened my eyes and started to get out of the bed before someone pushed me back.

"No, Roza. You need to stay here. You still need to rest. You've been through too much pain already. I won't risk it." Dimitri said. I just glared at him.

"I wasn't in pain, moron. You guys sedated me for nothing." I growle

* * *

I'm sooo sorry that this chapter is short, it's just that I wanted to post something! I hope you forgive me! I'm currently writing up the next chapter and I hope to post it tomorrow or Friday ASAP. Once again, I'm so terribly sorry. D:

-Halloween265


	16. All Yours

**Note**: I am so sorry that I haven't been updating! It's just that ever since I came back to school, all teachers have done is give me mountains of homework and right now my grades aren't good at all. I have two F's, and one D. I need to get that up and that will probably mean I won't update til mid next week. And also I'm the producter for a bullying prevention show next week so I'm booked and then I have some upcoming tests (already!) and I have to get good grades or my mom will seriously let me have it.

Anyway, sooo sorry that this chapter is friggin short! Next chapter will be the conversation between Dimitri and Adrian. Sorry again :/

I don't own anything.

* * *

DPOV

It's been a day since she came into the infirmary and she hasn't spoken to me since. I know she's deciding but I don't understand. If she loved me then she would've picked me right then and there. But then again, I wouldn't count on it. I've put her through too much just trying to hide our relationship.

Although I have hope, I just can't understand one thing. Of all the people in the world for Rose to fall in love with, why does it have to be Ivashkov?

Perhaps I should've tried better to keep them from meeting. If I wasn't so ignorant of her at the ski lodge then we wouldn't be in this situation.

But all that doesn't explain her behavior. She wouldn't even look at me. Have I done something wrong? I left her alone to collect her thoughts and I have been trying to keep myself busy. I knew that if I gave in, I would be proving to her that I'm pushing her. And I don't want that.

My shift was over thirty minutes ago and I took my time walking to the infirmary trying to collect my thoughts. I got there and opened the door to see a bit of a surprise.

Rose was sleeping on the bed, with Adrian right beside her. Her arms were wrapped around him and his chin was resting on her head. But what I noticed were the tear streaks that stained both their cheeks. They weren't noticeable on Adrian but they were obvious on Rose. I took a seat a few feet away from the bed and just watched them. She looked almost peaceful like and he was the same. It just stayed like this for ten minutes and I decided to go. I stood up and was heading towards the door when I heard someone shifting.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here." Adrian mumbled.

"Well you thought differently. I was just checking on her."

"Well, from my perspective, she's perfectly fine. You can go now."

"You don't have a reason for me to leave. That's not for you to say." How dare he order me like this when Rose is in the room?

"But I do have the authority." Okay, I know that Rose dated him, but what did she honestly see in this guy? He only uses girls for his needs.

"You two stop fighting, please. Just this once," Dr. Olendzki said to us from the door, "If you guys are going to continue talking I suggest you take it outside."

"Yes, lets." I said, motioning towards the door. Adrian sighed and got up. I watched with remorse as Rose tightened her grip on him.

We walked out of the building and stood just outside the entrance.

"So what did you want to talk to me about, Belikov?" Adrian said with hardly any interest.

"I wanted to talk to you about Rose's future. I don't want you pressuring her to make her decision."

"I'm not pressuring her."

"Then what were you doing in her room?" Now it was the time to get serious.

"She wanted to talk to me." He said in a hushed tone.

"Why?"

"I don't think that's any of your business. What happens between us stays between us." I didn't say anything after that and neither did he. Instead of continuing on with the conversation we just relaxed and leaned on the wall for support. I knew we were wasting time just standing when I had questions for him. Serious questions, but I don't know how to start. Ten minutes passed and we still haven't said a word to each other.

I sighed and turned to look at him, "How much does she mean to you?"

"It all depends on who you're talking about, Belikov." He said with no interest. He took out a package of cigarettes and picked one out.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about."

He stopped for a moment before lighting his cigarette, "She means a lot to me."

"Explain."

* * *

Til then

-Halloween265


	17. All I Need

**Note:** I apologize for my very long absence it's just that my grades went beyond bad and my mom took my laptop away for the month of Feb and to make matters worse my mom decided not to pay the for the internet as my punishment for my bad grades. So the only time I could get on the internet was before school and that was only for 10 minutes and during lunch for 20 min. I tried working on this chapter I wrote it like 5 times but couldn't find the will to be okay with it. I'd be like "OK it's finished" then I'll read it again and I'll be like "This isn't going to work." I had a hard time with this chapter and I finally accept this one. So I hope you guys like it.

THis is the last chapter for this story. I'm sorry that you, readers, have to wait almost two months just for the last chapter. But I am working on another story called The Last Stand. And I hope to post that sometimes this weekend. Or late this week.

Song for this chapter: All I Need by Within Temptation

* * *

(Rose and Adrian's conversation before Dimitri came in)

**APOV**

Belikov's on his guarding shift right now, so I might hopefully visit Rose before he shows up on one of his daily checkups. I swear, he can't even survive one day-no make that one hour without seeing her. But then again, I'm the same. I've been trying to get in contact with her ever since that sedating problem. Oh man, that was funny as hell. Wait, focus Adrian.

I hesitated in the doorway to her room, not even sure of my next move. What if I come in and she throws and tantrum and yells at me to get out? What if she's asleep and this is the only time I'll see her? But deep in my head I knew that it was time for me to talk to her, regardless if she's awake or not. I'll stay by her side until she tells me to leave. Way to go Adrian...moron.

I looked around the infirmary making sure that no one would see me go in and getting the wrong impression. Once I saw that I would be alone, I opened the door to her room and peeked in. She was sleeping, well it looked like it. I crossed the room and sat on the chair next to Rose. I slowly took one of her hands that were neatly rested on her lap. Her hands were cold and I guess my body heat warmed her.

"Thanks, Adrian. You're so warm." She said warmly, her eyes still closed. I smiled knowing that she wouldn't see it but did so anyway.

"Pleasures all mine Little Dhampir," I replied. She shifted a bit in her bed before opening her eyes completely, revealing to me just how must stress she's been going through. Just looking at her vulnerable side almost made me flinch, but luckily I didn't show it.

She smiled slightly before looking at the wall opposite from me, "Don't lie to me Adrian, how bad do I look?"

"The truth?" I said cautiously. She nodded.

"You look horrific Rose." She laughed and I felt almost happy that I got her to do that.

She looked at me and tried to glare at me but failed and ending up laughing again. We stayed like that for a while before she looked at her shoulder.

"I don't feel anything there anymore," She admitted. I sighed.

"I was hoping you wouldn't need to."

She rolled her eyes, "So when do I get out of here?"

This made me hesitate to answer her, "Well, not for a while. You still have some more tests to go through."

We didn't talk for a minute. I was getting uncomfortable with the silence and I think she felt the same.

"So how did you get in here? I thought no one was supposed to come in here during these hours." She said.

"I snuck in. This was the only time I could come before Belikov gets off his shift." She looked a little down after that and I mentally slapped myself in the forehead for that. Us talking about Dimitri was a delicate topic to discuss and it mainly led to our fights.

"I don't deserve him," She mumbled. I looked at her.

"What do you mean?" I scooted closer to her.

"I don't deserve Dimitri. Me making him wait like this is must be agony for him. He deserves someone better than me. He just so special and important to me that I want to be with him but something's just stopping me from doing so." She started to cry at this point. I looked down and took a shaky breath.

"And that must be me." I muttered. I started to move my hand away from hers in shame but instead her grip tightened on mine.

"Not at all. You're not doing anything Adrian. This is all me!"

I didn't know how to answer. I wanted so bad to comfort her but I knew it wouldn't do any to good to her.

But all I did know was that if I kept adding more and more stress to her problems then I would regret it later on.

I got out of the chair and stood up.

"No, Adrian don't go." She begged. I shouldn't have given her the impression of me leaving. I motioned with my hands for her to scoot over. When she was on the other side I sat down on the empty side of the bed and wrapped my arms around her. She did the same and rested her head on my chest, still shaky and tired.

"I guess it all comes down to this. I never thought it would end like this." What was she talking about?

"I'm thinking about letting Dimitri go, Adrian." Just her saying that really shocked me. I mean, if this would've happened like way before everything started, then I would've been jumping for joy. But the rational part of me was saying that she was crazy.

"That's a load of crap, Rose. You're lying and you know it." I growled lightly. She flinched and I got a hint of her aura. What she was telling me wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either.

"No, I'm not. I'm actually thinking about it."

I felt a sudden twinge of guilt running through me. I should've been like 'Ha! Take that Belikov!', but instead I felt bad for the guy. He has risked everything in his life just to keep her safe and to keep her with him at all costs. He didn't want to lose her again and I felt the same way.

But then I remembered that I came here for one thing and one thing only...

"Rose, you should go be with him." I said. She looked up at me from shock.

"What? But I thought that this was what you've always wanted."

"It was. But," I paused and closed my eyes, "I knew that you would've never been feeling the same way. You love him more and it's obvious. Everything's been taken care of. Tasha's dead. Mason's spirit is in peace. What's holding you back? And do _not_ say I don't know." By the time I was done talking I was even surprised at myself for taking Belikov's side, let alone let Rose know about it.

"I just...I don't...It's just so hard, Adrian." She clutched on tighter to me.

"Life's hard Rose," A few tears ran down my cheeks and fell on Rose's head, traveling into her hair until they were out of sight.

"I just wished things were different." She hiccuped.

I smiled, "I don't. I wouldn't change anything," I pulled away slightly and lifted her chin up so I could see her clearly, "You know why?" She shook her head, "Because now you're going to finally find peace and happiness." She cried even harder and I started to lean in.

She did the same and it continued until it seemed that only a hairstrand stood in our way. I looked into her eyes and saw that she was doing the same. What was once gray and colorless, were now brown and swirling with life and I would forever etch this into my mind, never forgetting it.

I leaned in one last time and our lips met. For once in my life, the kiss sent sparks of electricity through me. In our other kisses they were only short and friendly. But this one would top all those others a hundred times.

It only took her a second to respond back. Her lips met mine eagerly and the intensity increased so much I thought I would die right then and there from joy.

We soon lost track of time and neither of us wanted to stop, but as they say, all the good things come to an end.

I pulled away and pecked her lips one last time before settling back onto the pillows behind me. She resumed her usual position on my chest and fell asleep soon afterwards, with me following.

I love her enough to let her go.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

(Present)

**DPOV**

_"It all depends on who you're talking about, Belikov." He said with no interest. He took out a package of cigarettes and picked one out. _

_"You know exactly who I'm talking about." _

_He stopped for a moment before lighting the cigarette, "She means a lot to me."_

_"Explain."_

"I thought you knew the answer to that, Dimitri."

"Stop playing games with me Ivashkov," I growled, "What exactly did you talk about in that room?"

He let out a puff of smoke, "If you're so desperate then why don't you ask her?"

"She's resting right now."

"Oh trust me," He said, "She's more than willing to tell you. I had to make her see reason."

"See reason for what?" I questioned.

I could tell he was so about to blow it. He leaned off the wall and began to pace around for a while, thinking about what he should say next.

It stayed like this for what seemed like forever before he calmed down and walked down the path. When I didn't follow he turned his head and gestured for me to follow. Swallowing whatever bad thoughts I had about him, I followed.

The silence dragged on forever as we continued to walk towards a large bench in front of the fountain. I thought this idiot had it all planned out.

"Don't worry I'm getting there. It's just I don't think back there," He pointed to the infirmary behind him with his thumb, "was the best place to tell you everything."

"Was it? Or was it something else?"

"You sound like an idiot right now. I'm telling you what my intentions are and you're replying as if you're testing me." He said, a little irritated, "But..."

I waited in response and all I got in return was silence. What the hell is he trying to tell me?

"What went on in that room, not only would be the best decision for both of us, but for you too," He paused again, "I thought and thought about what I said back there, and I don't regret it. You know that all we want is for her to finally be happy." I nodded in agreement. This is what I was waiting for.

He smirked, "And now I guess you should talk to her." That hypocrite! Ugh! Blows it off at the last minute!

"So you dragged me all the way out there for nothing?" I asked, a little outraged.

He didn't say anything. Instead, he just continued to smile and walked away.

I tried to erase the anger from my system entirely, but it seemed impossible, knowing that Rose could've chosen Adrian and wanted to make this as simple as possible. I took a deep breath through my mouth. The scent of pine and dead leaves was all I could taste.

The trail that we took here was deserted and looked like no one has ever used it since today. Since the place was secure, I just pushed myself to start walking up the trail. For what was only five minutes, it seemed much more than that. Make it 30 minutes. Soon enough I found myself in front of Rose's door.

Well, here it goes...

I only knocked twice, then paused for a second to open the door.

"Rose?"

**RPOV**

"Rose?"

I was just so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't even hear his voice nor the knocks. So when I heard his voice I nearly shrieked in terror. But before I could even get it out of my mouth I stopped, only a tiny squeal made its way out.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," Dimitri raised his hands and smiled a little in amusement, "I thought you would've heard the door or something. I'm sorry, Rose."

I was still a little breathless, "What are you doing here? I thought you were on your shift?"

"I was, but when I came here you were still asleep and..." His face fell a little bit, "Adrian and I had a talk."

I took a deep breath and sat up fully on the bed, "You talked with Adrian? Wh-What happened? You didn't hurt him did you?" If Dimitri talked with Adrian then I wonder how the conversation went. Did Dimitri hit him because of everything that has happened? Or did Adrian push his buttons until he went ballistic?

He shook his head, "No. No one got hurt. And nothing really happened. It was just...a..." He couldn't find the words to say to complete his sentence. So I finished it for him.

"A talk about my future." I muttered under my breath. I looked away and saw from the corner of my eye Dimitri nodding.

"Yeah. I was going to ask him some questions, but he told me to see you instead. It's just I wasn't expecting you to be fully awake."

"Oh."

"How are you feeling?" I knew he wanted to know what my decision was, but he couldn't find the will to just blurt it out. He was waiting for the right time to say it. But for now he was trying to get comfortable in the situation before it gets serious.

"A lot better actually. You know, I needed that extra...whatever it was. I feel refreshed and well-rested."

He smiled, "I'm still sorry for doing that to you. I had no idea."

"Well it wasn't really your fault." I started to laugh at this point. We stayed like this for a few more minutes, just discussing old times. Then I started to get uncomfortable when he stopped and his face was getting stoic looking.

"So, Rose...Adrian told me you have something to tell me." He closed his eyes and was awaiting the truth. Man, he really thought...

All I could ask myself now was, why the hell is this being made into such a drama thing? I feel so stupid that I had to make such a big deal out of this thing.

I slowly lifted the blanket off of me and moved my legs over the edge of the bed, never once taking my eyes off of Dimitri. I stood to my full height and walked over to where Dimitri was standing.

I guess he must've seen what my answer was because he looked down a little and gently grabbed my right hand with my left.

I smiled fully, "I choose you Dimitri."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him until my lips touched his. His arms snaked around my waist, pressing me tighter against his chest. As our lips moved together, I tasted something else. Salt. I didn't realize we were both crying.

He barely pulled back and I missed his touch, but he moved his lips to my eyes, slowly kissing away the tears that were falling down my cheeks.

"You have no idea how this makes me feel Rose," He said, his voice thick, "Thank you."

"Pleasures all mine Comrade," I smiled back at him and we continued what we started.

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Review and I hope u had a good time watchin this :)

-Halloween265


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